Bayani (Virtue)/Closure
"Closure"
Foreword: I wrote the original version of "Closure" several winters ago when the CoH community reps were looking for story submissions with love as the theme. It was the first piece of fiction I ever wrote involving Bayani and at the time, I hadn't really given much thought to establishing "canon" for him. I've been making an effort to polish Bayani's backstory and make it much more consistent. So, I to revise "Closure" and see how much my writing has changed over the past 4 years. The original story was edited by Jesse Scoble (Arctic Sun) and can be found at CoH Fanzine, Issue #0. Anyways, I think I'm done with this story for now, though I'll eventually want to put an illustration here that matches the mood of the story. I hope you enjoy it. - Kris 6/25
Bayani wished he could fly on days like this. The New England winter did not make for easy acrobatic work across the Siren’s Call, but the young Filipino hero maintained his poise as he leaped with calculated ease from rooftop to rooftop. He weaved through a deadly volley of blasts with uncanny instinct, utilizing economy of movement. Bayani doubted that his fire armor could withstand the full brunt of his mysterious assailant’s attacks and he knew better than to confront an unknown adversary head-on. It was definitely the time to bug out, so Bayani decided to call in for a little help.
“Mae-Day! I need an extraction ASAP!” Bayani said aloud after activating the communications link. He continued to duck and dodge through the area’s crumbling infrastructure as his would-be assassin continued to rain destruction around him.
“Hiya, boss!” chirped a bubbly voice. “You sound out of breath! What’s the scoop?”
“No time for chit-chat, kiddo! I’ve got an unknown bogey on my tail and I need an out.”
“I’d love to help boss man, but it’s going to take awhile!” Mae-Day replied between rapid bursts of gun fire and explosions. “Sky Raiders have made Siren’s Call airspace a bit of a hot zone! Can you give me 30?”
“Seconds?” Bayani asked hopefully.
“Minutes!”
Bayani muttered a curse.
“What was that, boss?” Mae-Day asked innocently.
“Er…I said ‘Sun’s on the beach.’ Just get here when you can!”
"Right-o!"
Bayani broke off communications just before a bolt of energy nearly took his head. Bayani performed some fancy footwork in dodging the second, third, and fourth bolts before taking off at full sprint into the nearest alley for cover. Bayani’s skills in hand-to-hand combat made him a dangerous opponent in melee and but his assailant’s long-range attacks kept him off-balance. The change in environment, he thought, could be just what he needed to close the gap.
“Alright just who are you, Tex?” Bayani muttered to himself as he crouched behind an dumpster overflowing with trash. His patented eyewear automatically adjusted to the low-light conditions and gave him a better view of his assailant.
He spotted a lone woman glided into the alley, her head masked in an expressionless golden helmet that glinted in the setting sun. Her hands crackled with dangerous energy. The glow from her hands cast enough light on her blue and gold uniform to reveal her identity: a Crey Industries’ Paragon Protector. Bayani was hardly surprised. Crey Industries had been stepping up activity to disrupt its competitors’ business cycles. One of their competitors just happened to be Bayani’s business, Paragon’s Own. Bayani scowled silently behind his visor; Paragon’s Own turned only a modest profit but had built an excellent reputation for quality in their efforts to for re-build city infrastructure damaged during meta-human conflict. The company, staffed by construction workers with super-powers of their own, won bids because of its extremely efficient operations. Apparently, Crey decided it was time to take Paragon’s Own down a few pegs, starting with members of the company’s corporate staff.
Bayani decided it was time to send a message. He snatched an overflowing garbage can in each hand and ignited them before launching them at the Paragon Protector.
“Catch!” Bayani taunted.
Paragon Protectors were never been much for banter. The Protector dismissed the garbage cans with a swat of energy, but that proved to be a tactical error. The garbage cans exploded into a rain of flaming debris that blinded her momentarily. Bayani took advantage of the situation by beaning her with a pair of custom grenades before springing into action.
Upon contact, the grenades exploded into a mess of heavy, sticky strands that bound her body and forced her to land on the street. She struggled vainly to break free of the webs, but her efforts only succeeded in causing the strands to constrict even tighter. The Crey flunkie could only watch helplessly as Bayani opened up the proverbial can of “whoop-ass” with a leaping 720 fiery spin kick that connected squarely with her helmet and cracked it in the process. The Protector reeled from impact, but the web cocoon kept her anchored in place.
“So who were you cloned from?” Bayani asked as he continued to pummel her with a scorching assault of fists, elbows, and knees. “That’s what you Paragon Protectors are, right? Clones developed from the remains of dead heroes and programmed with memories and personalities the Countess raped from their brains?”
If she wanted to respond, she couldn’t. His rapid-fire attacks smothered her like molten lava. Though the webs anchored her to the ground, they were also elastic. She swiveled back and forth like a double-end speed bag as Bayani continued to attack her with a relentless flurry of fury.
“I don’t appreciate the way your company does business,” Bayani remarked before stepping back and summoning his chi to create a quarterstaff of fire. The staff scattered embers as he spun it from side to side. “I’d rather turn you over to the authorities while you can still talk, though. Care to clue me in behind these recent attacks on Paragon’s Own, Inc.?”
The Protector remained silent and as a result, the corner of Bayani’s lips twitched upward in bit of ire. He struck the Protector’s chin. The force of the impact caused the anchoring webs to snap and she sailed 20 feet into the air. Bayani leaped into the air after the Protector and delivered an overhead strike that batted her back down to the pavement. The Protector crashed into the street, helmet shattering into hundreds of pieces. Bayani landed gracefully next to the Protector’s form and used the light from his fiery weapon to examine her features more closely.
Despite her predicament, she glared coldly and defiantly at Bayani. She was classically beautiful with a soft white complexion, bright blue eyes, and a smooth angular jawline, all of which were framed with a cascade of wavy blonde hair. Recognition dawned on Bayani in a split second. This was a woman no one would ever forget, especially him.
“Bree?” he whispered in surprise as he lowered his guard by a fraction.
Bayani’s hesitation gave the Paragon Protector the opening she needed. Her eyes narrowed and flashed a dangerous shade of blue just before she erupted with a massive surge of energy that freed her from the webs. Though Bayani shielded himself from most of the nova blast with his fire armor, the nova blast knocked him off his feetBayani of his feet. Bayani lost his visor as he skittered and tumbled across the street before colliding with a dormant fire hydrant. His fire armor deflected most of the impact but it still friggin’ hurt. Bayani groaned an expletive and rose to his feet unsteadily, clutching his head in a daze. His senses screamed at him to move, so he instinctively spun to his right and narrowly avoided the Protector’s flying tackle.
The Paragon Protector was too agile for him, however. She twisted in mid-air dove at Bayani again with a blindingly fast combination of punches. Bayani parried as best he could but he was too groggy from crashing headfirst into the hydrant. The Protector slipped several energy-charged blows though Bayani’s defenses and connected with his sternum and ribs. Bayani exhaled sharply and tried to counter with an uppercut, but the Protector was ready for Bayani's uncharacteristically clumsy move. She trapped his over-extended limb in an armlock retaliated with a vicious headbutt to the bridge of his nose.
Crack! Bayani’s concentration broke and his fire shield disappeared in a wisp of smoke. The Protector caught Bayani’s head before he reeled too far back and guided it straight into a crushing elbow strike. Lights and stars flashed across Bayani’s field of vision before darkness overtook him. His body went limp and toppled into the Paragon Protector, and who allowed him to fall unceremoniously to the pavement. Bayani’s noggin bounced off the street curb in the process, which left an unsightly gash above his left eyebrow.
Crey’s super-soldier prodded him with her foot to ensure that he was unconscious before she snatched Bayani by his lapels and her power for the killing blow. She would have ended Bayani’s life too if it were not for the throbbing pain growing at the temples of her forehead. Crey’s scientists built memory blocks into their clones to prevent them from accessing the experiences and knowledge that would compromise their programming. Bayani’s earlier attacks somehow broke those memory blocks, causing a cascade of memories to flood the clone's mind in a matter of seconds. Soon, recognition dawned on her and she lowered her fist.
“I…I know you…don’t I?”
For all her tomboyish behavior, Sabrina St. James’ bedroom was rather frilly and pink. Ren Angeles glanced up at the Jem & the Holograms poster, then to the New Kids on the Block poster and chuckled a little. Bree looked up from her Vogue magazine and frowned.
“What’s so funny, Mr. Angeles?”
“Nothing at all, Ms. St. James,” he replied as he continued to tidy up the room. Sabrina’s eyes narrowed. “Your bedroom is just truly, truly outrageous.”
“Excuse you!” she huffed. Ren laughed as he ducked a flying Funshine CareBear.
“Hmmph.”
“Aw, no frowning,” Ren chided. He picked up Funshine after folding Bree’s Hero Corps uniform, then then wandered back to the bed to tuck Funshine next to Sabrina. Sabrina smiled and moved Funshine to the other side of the bed and tugged Ren closer. Ren noticed that her grip wasn’t as strong as it used to be; the chemotherapy left her weak but Ren didn’t think much about that. He joined Sabrina on the bed, fingers entwined with hers.
“You’d make a good cabana boy,” she teased softly and laid her head back on the pillows.
“That’d all sorts of awesome. ‘Glimmer’ and her sidekick the ‘Cabana Boy’,” Ren replied, rolling his eyes as Sabrina giggled.
“Wielding the mighty palm frond and packing SPF40 pepper spray…”
Sabrina grinned and mussed Ren’s hair. Ren didn’t mind; he just burrowed deeper into her arms. She welcomed the attention, but her smile faded.
“I think the days of being a super-heroine are long gone for me.”
“Hey hey, don’t talk like that. You’ll get through this, sweetheart,” Ren murmured. He squeezing her hand gently.
“I just feel so overwhelmed. It’s been so difficult, Ren, and I’m scared. Promise me you’ll stay with me?” She whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. Ren sat up and regarded her quietly. His girlfriend had always been assertive, outgoing, and confident one whereas he was quiet and reserved. He brushed the tear that streamed down her cheek and then ran his fingers through her blonde locks. Bree smiled a little and enjoyed the warmth in his hands.
“Where else would I go, Bree? You’re my best friend and I belong right here next to you,” Ren said in a soft and gentle tone. “Now rest up and I’ll make you something light to eat.”
Bree kissed him lightly and nodded. She then paused briefly, a hint of a smile crossing her her lips.
“Look at you taking charge. It must be all the training and exercise. Maybe I should’ve encouraged you to study martial arts more intensely years ago. We could’ve been Glimmer and her Cabana Man by now.”
Bree giggled at her clever jokes as Ren sighed heavily as he strolled out the room to prepare her lunch. He returned a few minutes later with chicken noodle soup and tea. Bree was nestled in her bed with her eyes closed, looking peaceful.
“Bree?” he called out quietly as he set the tray on her nightstand and caressed her cheek. She did not stir.
Bree ignored the pain and numbness overtaking her body and tore a strip of gold cloth from her leggings. She tied into a makeshift bandage around Bayani’s head to stem his bleeding.
“Oh my god,” she whispered as she propped Bayani up against a nearby lamppost and smoothed out his jet black hair. The derelict lamppost creaked under Bayani’s weight, but did not topple over. “Please wake up, honey. Please?”
The clone sobbed quietly as sat down next to Bayani and rested her head on his lap. Her body betrayed her for a second time; Crey Industries’ fail safe device activated after her memory locks were compromised and soon, she would fade away just like the original Sabrina did years ago. She continue to cry until Bayani regained consciousness. It did not take Bayani a long time to recall the events that led to his black out. Alarmed, he tried to separate himself from the clone but she held onto him firmly.
“Don’t go Ren,” she pleaded as her body convulsed and twitched violently. “I don’t understand what all of this means either, but just hold me? Please?” Her voice opened old wounds and Bayani’s thoughts drifted to his last memories of Bree. He then noticed the Paragon Protector’s torn leggings and touched the cloth wrapped around his aching head.
“Alright,” he finally whispered. Ren slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around Bree. His heart ached terribly, but he cradled her in his arms, comforting her as best he could. Moments passed before their eyes met and she smiled.
“Thank you,” she replied and nestled in closer. Ren forgot how brilliantly Bree’s eyes sparkled. “That’s quite a handsome uniform you’ve got, sweetheart. I love it.”
Ren smiled sadly but remained silent. Bree hesitated before continuing.
“How long have we been…er…you know?”
“Too long. Way too long,” Ren answered quietly. He ran his fingers through her wavy blonde locks, just like he had done so many times years ago. He began to choke on a few tears.
“Shhh. It’ll be ok. We’ll be ok,” she consoled. “When I got the doctor’s diagnosis, I worried most about how you would cope if…if I didn’t make it. We relied so heavily on each other and I was just so scared for both of us. But now I know how strong you can be, honey, and I’m so proud of you. Just promise you’ll continue to stay strong for me?”
“I will,” Ren murmured quietly. “I’ll miss you so much, though.”
“And I’ll miss you terribly,” she replied shakily as her condition worsened. “Mahal kita, baby.”
Ren brushed Sabrina’s hair away from her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back and reached up to touch his cheek to motion him closer. Ren complied and their lips met in a soft and tender goodbye. Bree brushed her nose past Ren’s and lingered for a few more moments before time ran out on her again. The fail-safe device completed its work mercilessly and ensured that Crey’s secrets remained hidden. Ren gazed at the copy of the woman fate took away from him, then around at his surroundings, searching for answers that would resolve the maelstrom of emotions swirling within him. He found none in the rubble of Siren’s Call, so he bowed his head in quiet reflection until he resigned himself into accepting that some closure was better than none at all.
“I love you, too.”
