Growing Up A Superhero #4b/?
Angel of Death

Cal sucked in great lungfuls of air, watching as every memory he had slowly shattered. January had said once that the mindscape was unlike anything he would ever see. It was where all the memories were stored, all the hopes, dreams and thoughts. People wore masks in the outside world, she had said, but in the mindscape that's impossable. You saw things as they really were. She said that people in comas retreated into the mindscape to heal. People who had completely withdrawn from reality did the same. In the mindscape you could see everything about yourself.

Cal didn't like what he saw. At first it had been light and airy, bright with hope and promise. Then something else had come in. It tainted the land, turned everything dark. Cal had instictively kept away from it, even as it came after him. It swirled and crashed, turning everything it touched black. And the first silver, shining memory it had come to, it had shattered and thrown into the abyss.

The redheaded boy used every trick he knew as it surrounded him. He wove shields, tightening them around his "body" even though it hurt--badly--to do so. The thing flooded his mind, invading all that was personal, private, forcing it's way through barriers. It touched everything, tainting it and making the boy feel sick and disgusting.

Another memory shattered and fell, and Cal wondered if it was anything worth remembering anyway. Tears rolled down his face as he gasped for more air, trying to block out what was happening. The Blackness rolled toward him once again, and this time, Cal didn't seem to care. He watched it come, crushing more memories beneath it. He looked on at the broken things, then made a last effort to protect himself, weaving the shields tighter with only half a heart.

The Blackness came on, crushing everything in it's path. And then it was through the shields, and smiling.

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"Chance? Sweetheart?" Jessie brushed sweatsoaked hair out of his face, his eyes closed to the world, knees up to his chin. "It's okay. We're here."

The boy's eyes popped open, and he stared at the woman blankly. All fear was gone, all pain. "He's dead."

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