Dark Matter Rises

Dark Matter Rises is the sequel to Dark Matter: Code Red and serves as the second entry to the Dark Matter novel series. The story takes place shortly after the events of the first book and continues to follow the journey of Collin Williams.

## Description

*"They were warned. They did not listen. Nova Station is all but decimated. The station, home to hundreds of thousands, was only the beginning. The Intergalactic Alliance now scurries to counter this new threat, even going as far as to aid Collin Williams, known as Dark Matter, on his quest to regain his titular powers. This new arc will take Collin across the stars in a fight like no other. But even with his powers restored, Collin must stand with the Knights and Angels against new foes. The time has come for a hero to arise. But will Dark Matter be able to handle his powers after his time in exile?"*

## Plot Summary

Collin arrived on a remote island on Earth where he met the doctor, who was hiding from the Industry. Collin was able to find the crystal element that unlocked his powers, but not before the Industry attacked the island. A short battle ensued, but was cut short when the Alliance called for a retreat. The doctor had fallen and Relic was now loose. As the Alliance retreated, the island was nuked by an Alliance station in orbit. But Benjamin and Collin were quickly sent to join their friends and other I.G.A. forces led by Ordazed’s right hand, Colonel Horothe, on Katar-7, a junk planet. With so much scrap metal around, the Industry was free to establish a base and begin mass production of mechanical troops, tanks, mechs, and more.

The Battle of Katar-7 took a turn for the worst until Collin and Benjamin arrived. Collin powered up and used his dark matter powers to hold off Industry forces. The sudden tidal change motivated Alliance troops across the battlefield and the Alliance drove forward towards the Industry base.

On the second day of the battle, Collin received far too many wounds to keep pushing forward without any sort of armor. Alden radioed him and revealed a set of armor was awaiting for Collin from a ship in orbit. Initially, Collin hated the idea of wearing the armor, but after ripping off the inner thigh armor and the fabric between his biceps and elbows, he was able to move almost as agile as without the armor. Satisfied, he pressed on until he ran into Zarkiks, an electricity-manipulating mutant. The two clashed, but Collin was ultimately defeated. While he was down, the Alliance managed to take over the base with the aid of the Angels and Knights.

Collin woke up and found his friends aboard an Alliance fleet ship. They all received news that Katar-7 was a ruse: Fusia I had fallen to the Industry while all eyes were turned. The Angels and Knights agreed to lead a number of Alliance forces to Fusia II to prevent the Industry from taking over the entire star system. Collin was ordered to return to Managarus and await further orders. Reluctantly, he agreed,

Shortly after arriving on Managarus, Collin witnessed a space station crash down in the capital city. The city’s defensive barrier walls rose and as Collin arrived at the walls, he learned that the most unlikely strike had begun: the Industry was attacking Managarus, one of the most well-defended planets in the galaxy.

Collin saved the King and Queen but was forced to fight bioweapons on his own while the King and Queen were taken back towards the city. Collin had been brought to the point of exhaustion by the time his friends had arrived aboard the Excalibur and revealed that Managarus’ distress call had been heard. Alden revealed a new suit of armor to Collin, now tailored for it’s user’s agility, and injected Collin with a dose of adrenal to help him back into the fight. Collin, now with the Angels and Knights, traveled into Pearl City where they break up into smaller groups to aid Managarus’ forces. Collin located Orion and Selene and saved them from Zarkiks in a church deep in the city, but his victory was short-lived when Relic made his appearance in the capital city.

Collin fought Relic as best he could, but it was immediately apparent that Collin could not inflict damage. The Angels came to his aid once more, and though they knew they could not harm Relic, Collin and the Angels shot a combined beam of magic and dark matter energy at Relic with enough force that Relic was thrown past the edge of the city towards the fallen defensive walls.

With Relic out of the way for the time being, Collin and his friends gathered and spotted the Megiddo, a massive planet-destroying ship, slowly hovering above the outer edge of the wall and moving towards the city. Jarod arrived and informed the group that the Alliance was ready to mount an assault on the ship. As everyone fly with wings or on hoverbikes to the ship, hundred of Knights and Angels from various planets joined the fight.

Colonel Horothe joined the fight for himself using a small mech, with Relic by his side. Collin was separated from his friends after Relic beat him senseless before going after the Angels in Collin’s group. Several Knights and a couple of Angels split off to try to shut down the Megiddo from the inside.

Collin was down, but he experienced a vision of Mia telling him to “rise.” With every fiber of his being, he fought to his feet and powered up, realizing he could now control his powers enough that he solidified dark matter energy into swords coming out of his wrists. He focus the edges of the blades to a sharpness that was able to cut through Relic’s skin, then joined Kyle and Blare. The trio worked together to defeat Relic and Horothe only moments after the rest of their friends deactivated the Megiddo’s primary weapon.

While the battle was finally over, the damage to the city was nearly irreparable. Alliance representatives approached Orion and informed him that the treaty signed between Managarus and I.G.A. had been broken. As per the treaty, the two were allies, but being that no I.G.A. worlds were monarchy-based, should Managarus be unable to defend itself and require the Alliance’s assist, it would merge with I.G.A. The King and Queen would be required to step down, and neither had ever heard of such an atrocious term. Collin believed this to be have been added to the treaty after it’s signature as it could not have possibly been skipped over and he was not alone in his beliefs. Numerous people, including Jarod Frey and even President Mortoosa, so Collin assured his parent’s that he would take it upon himself to investigate whether the treaty had really been violated. It was at this time that King Orion knighted Collin as a final act as King.