October 31st
2346 EST

    Tristan's clenched fists iced over as he stood, frozen, before Rune and his monstrous band. He dared a quick glance around the cortex and saw that CJ and Avi had beaten him and Bristol there, and were now in their own stand-off against members of Rune's dark league. CJ was running circles around Psyche, while Avi was encased in a green glow, fighting Mania. Despite Eric's cryptic warning, his alter ego had taken him over once more, and there he stood, fighting the girl he once loved.

    "Yes, Tristan, watch as your beloved home crumbles before you." Rune drawled, snapping Tristan's attention back to him.

    "How the hell did you get in here?" Bristol demanded, a look of ferocity flooding her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists at her side, ready to charge toward their opponent.

    Rune's shrouded eyes slid over to Bristol, and through his shadowy mask, darkness formed a thin smile. "Hello, Bristol. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
   
    Bristol yelled as flames filled her hands, and she volleyed a fireball at the sorcerer before her. However, like he was a hologram and nothing more, Rune dissolved into shadows.

    "Where'd he go?" Tristan whirled around, looking for any sign of Rune, but true to his abilities, he'd disappeared.

    "We can worry about that later," Bristol called, grabbing Tristan's arm. "We have more pressing issues to worry about."

    She was right. Decaying corpses with only the purpose of destruction were tearing through the cortex, leaving a trail of carnage in their wake. Each previous villain they've faced stood against them again and their friends needed their help.

    A small tidal wave materialized behind Bristol, and she rode it into battle, sliding into the pulpit behind Aetna and the undead that aided her. Tristan spotted Priscilla atop the central platform, swirls of light surrounding her as she vaporized a vanguard of Rune's zombies.
   
    "Tristan Dahl..." A gravelly voice snagged Tristan's attention. Phobos' wiry figure stalked towards him, dragging a hand along the wall as he approached. "I've longed for this moment since our encounter at Shadowedge."
   
    The Union's mission to Shadowedge had felt like an eternity ago, but Tristan knew that it marked the beginning of this battle for a long time now. His suspicions had been correct, and here they were.

    "Hope you didn't get too comfortable," Tristan noted, ice filling his palms. "Because you're going back there," he mumbled to himself.
   
    Before Phobos could attack, Tristan shot a dual ray of ice at him. The villain darted out of the way, but Tristan was faster. He became a machine, firing icicle after icicle, to keep Phobos on his toes. Like any metahuman, if he couldn't concentrate on his abilities, he couldn't use them. So as long as Tristan was one step ahead, he'd be able to keep him distracted.

    That was, until the zombies came. They surrounded Tristan, and while he tried to fend them off, he couldn't fight off that many opponents at once. Phobos fired an image of Tristan's fears into his head, and Tristan fell to his knees. He scrambled backwards as Phobos stalked towards him; he fired a blast of ice in his direction, but the villain only ducked out of the way.

    "The Union and Contingency will fall," Phobos taunted over the roar of elements in the air. The cortex had become a battleground in all sense of the word. "What will you do, Tristan, when everything that you love is destroyed?"

    Phobos pushed more images into his mind, and suddenly, Tristan wasn't in the cortex anymore. He was in his childhood home, creeping down the halls in the middle of the night. His parents rushed into the hall, urging him to go find Liv and Aaron and run to safety. They were in their supersuits, and they rushed back into the rest of the house. In slow motion,  Tristan watched as the room exploded into flame and light, as he flew back, back, back--

    Tristan yelled in defiance, the image shattering as a wave of cold emanated from his body. Power surged through his veins as he staggered to his feet, ice steaming from his hands. He couldn't see for sure, but judging from the rush of energy, he knew his sapphire irises were glowing with power.

    "Get out of my head," Tristan's voice was guttural, on the verge of a roar as he took a step forward, his footsteps icing over. "Get out of my life." He reached forward and grabbed the collar of Phobos' shirt. "And get the hell out of my home."

    Before Phobos could react, Tristan channeled as much of his power as he could, watching as it circled him, circled Phobos, until every fear, every vision that the villain had shown him had disintegrated. Tristan stood back and a frozen Phobos stared back at him, eyes unseeing as the figure fell to the floor, shattering into shards.
   
    Tristan exhaled, crumpling to his knees. He did it. He finally defeated one of their many opponents, but as he looked around, he realized the battle was far from over. He quickly rose into position and shook his limbs out to loosen them. His eyes surveyed the battle around him.

In a battle of water and fire, Bristol and Aetna were locked against each other. Neither's attention left the other as they fired blow after blow, each attack wearing down on Bristol further.

To Tristan's right, CJ ran laps around Psyche, streaks of electricity flying off his body. Though even to Tristan's eyes, CJ was visibly slowing. The constant speed was weighing on him and even he got exhausted from running eventually.

Avi was fallen to her knees, her hands pressed to her ears with a look of despair painted across her features. A green forcefield of energy surrounded her, but with Mania and a cluster of zombies probing her shield, it was moments away from dissipating.

The battle was getting worse and only Phobos was disposed of. They needed recruits, they needed--

A flash of light shook Tristan out of his reverie, and he turned to see a group of adults standing with Priscilla on the central platform. The Contingency. Instantly, Tristan watched as the elder superheroes dispersed, taking on the undead filling the room and aiding Avi, CJ, and Bristol in their fights against Rune's lackies.

Appearing from the shadows beside him, Specter morphed into physicality. Darkness materialized into his extremities as he placed his hands on Tristan's shoulder.

"Quite the mess you and your friends have gotten yourself into." He mumbled, his face shrouded in anguish. "What can I do to help?"

"Help Avi," he yelled over the sounds of the battle around him. "Get Mania away from her. He's inside her head. Do whatever you can to stop him," Tristan shouted. He reached out and grabbed the hero's arm, lowering his voice. "Whatever it takes, Paul. Do not let him touch her."

As soon as he appeared, he was gone again. In a second he materialized across the cortex directly in the way of Mania. Shadows erupted around them both, removing his line of contact with Avi.

Tristan made his way to Bristol's side, shards of ice shooting from his hands, destroying the demons in his way. As the ice made contact with Aetna's flowing lava, it surrounded it, freezing the magma until it fell to the ground in a useless shatter.

"I'll take out her blasts. Use your fire against her, I'll make sure she can't defend herself." Tristan called to Bristol, letting his body temperature drop to freezing temperatures.

Bristol continued to summon water around her, pelting Aetna with tidal waves. Though the intent was thought out, the only damage she caused was annoying the villain. "I was handling her on my own, Tristan," she spat through heavy breaths. "You don't always have to fix everyone else's problems." She heaved gallon after gallon of water on top of Aetna, but it only slowed her lava. "Believe it or not, we're all just as capable as you."

"Would you just listen to me?" Tristan pleaded, as he continued to fight the villain. "Let go of your pride for one second and trust me Bristol," he yelled, letting his temper get the best of him for a moment. Ice coursed through his veins, fueling his fire. He lowered his voice so only she could hear him, "Just you and me. Fire and Ice. We got this."

She looked back and forth from their foe to Tristan, weighing her options until she nodded, "I know." Bristol's eyes narrowed as she channelled her frustration into fire, letting her palms burst into an orange glow.

Aetna laughed from before them. "You two can't even stop bickering for long enough to fight me. You're polar opposites. Fire and ice. Do you expect that to work?" She asked, dumbfounded. A new wave of energy overcame her, as if she was fueled by their disagreement. Pure scolding lava flew from her body, but the pair of heroes were ready for her attack.

"We complement each other better than you'd think," Bristol yelled to Aetna in a burst of fire. As Aetna staggered backward, Bristol smirked at Tristan.

Together the pair concentrated their powers against the villain until she was hopelessly outmatched. Each of her offensive attacks were frozen the second it left her hands, leaving her body defenseless for Bristol to burn to ash. Aetna became weaker with every blow until she was barely still conscious.

"Wait," Tristan murmured, stopping frozen in his tracks. Every villain was engaged in a deadly fight with a member of the Union or the Contingency, but one. "Where is Rune?"

Bristol stopped, fireball in hand. Aetna was too weak to fight back. She stood away from them, defeated. "He has to be around here somewhere." She threw her ball of fire toward a zombie approaching, disintegrating it on the spot. She narrowed her eyes in correspondence with the daring look on his face. "Don't do anything stupid. Wait for Specter or something before you go charging toward your death."

"I can't just wait around while Rune could be destroying everything we've worked for." He turned away from her. "Finish her off, Bris!" Tristan yelled as he ran away from the cortex, leaving Bristol to her enemy.

~~~

Tristan had never fully registered how expansive Headquarters was until he was sprinting down the labyrinth of metallic hallways, each as identical as the next. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like ice floes being carried to sea, all the force of a blizzard keeping him going.

That's when he heard it.

"Tristan..." A phantasmic voice whispered into his head, and Tristan got into a fighting stance. Ice blazed into his palms as he searched the hall.

"Where are you?" Tristan muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes.

As if on cue, reality seemed to shatter around him. Tristan watched as the hallways dissolved in an illusion, until he was standing in an illuminated room reminiscent of the infirmary. The room was empty, save the shrouded figure standing in the center.

"Oh, look," Rune spoke, his voice echoing on the walls. "The conquering hero arrives at last."

"What do you want?" Tristan snarled.

Rune turned to face Tristan, his mask of shadows hiding everything but his indigo eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I want to see these halls running with the blood of those you care for, Deep Freeze." He drawled. "Maybe I'll start with that brunette girl...although I've already had her blood on my hands."

Tristan roared, his patience snapping. He shot a ray of cold energy at Rune, who parried with a beam of darkness. Tristan darted out of the way, forming a volley of icicles that he launched at the dark sorcerer before him. Rune simply waved a hand and the icicles spun back to Tristan, who formed a wall of ice to shield himself.

"Oh, enough of this!" Rune growled. He waved his hand and Tristan froze in place, energy forming around his hands.

Steel handcuffs tightened around Tristan's wrists, cutting into his skin. Before he could react, his body flew backward, tethering his wrists to the cool metal wall.

Tugging on Rune's trap, Tristan yelled in defiance. He could feel himself becoming less human as more moments passed, transforming into solid ice. Ignoring the pain, the only thought Tristan had in his mind was the necessity to remove himself from the handcuffs. With every attempt to freeze and break them, frozen droplets of blood shattered against the concrete floor from the incisions the metal cut.

"It's useless to fight it," Rune laughed as he smirked amusedly at Tristan's helplessness. "The cuffs are made from Callinium, the same metal your dear friend is made of. Impervious to heat and also the absence of it."

"If Avi is made from it, then she'll know how to remove them," Tristan spat. "Your friends are outmatched and I know the rest of my team and the Contingency is on their way to kill you right now," he growled through clenched teeth.

Rune leaned his back on the wall across from Tristan and crossed his arms across his chest as if he had all the time in the world. "I have no doubt she will remove them and I also have no doubt they're looking for you and I as we speak." He cackled to himself. "I admire your optimism, Tristan, but unfortunately for you, I'm optimistic as well." He gestured around the room they occupied, "you see, this room is cloaked in a spell. Until I'm gone, it'll be as if our room does not exist," he laughed and widened his eyes as they glowed a magical blue.

Tristan slumped against the wall in begrudging defeat. "Why are you doing this?" He cried, "Why trap me here? Why not kill me while you have the chance?"

The villain laughed as if the answer was obvious. "Don't underestimate me, Tristan. In every one of our battles I've always had the chance to kill you." His lips pulled up in a smirk to flash a row of strikingly white teeth. "No, you're here for a different reason. You've always been my favorite member of your little group of heroes."

Scoffing, Tristan rolled his eyes at the villain, refusing to meet his eyes. "And why is that?" He asked, pure venom laced in his tone.

"You and I have a lot in common," he paused, "whether you'll admit to it or not."

"I could never have anything in common with a monster like you," Tristan growled, spitting through his teeth in his anger. Ice cold beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Rune's shining cobalt eyes shimmered in pure amusement. "Oh, but we're so much more alike than you realize." Rune pushed himself off the wall and took several easy strides across the room to stand directly in front of Tristan. "Would you like to know why?" He whispered, close enough for Tristan to feel his breath on his cheeks.

Without moving his body, Tristan coughed and spit directly in Rune's face; the liquid turning instantly to ice the moment it left his lips. "Go to hell," he growled.

Winding back for more impact, Rune's fist connect with the center of Tristan's face, shattering the bones in his nose. He wiped the spit off his face with the sleeve of his suit, and his smirk with it. "Try something like again, and I will snap your neck faster than you can even say you're sorry."

"Then kill me," Tristan muttered, blood flowing rapidly from his nose. "That's what you want isn't it? Just get it over with," he spoke, his last words barely audible.

Rune spun on his heels and walked back to the other side of the room. "No I don't want to kill you Tristan, not yet at least." He laughed and the cruel sound echoed around the walls of the small, confined room. "I have bigger plans for you and your sister."

"I swear if you hurt her again," Tristan's tone was guttural in an attempt to charge Rune, but only succeeded in cutting his wrists deeper.

"You'll do what?" Rune snarled, snapping his head around to face Tristan.

"I'll kill you," he murmured, his voice breaking.

Rune scoffed, "if only you could Tristan. Now that would be exciting."

Tristan hung his head and fixed his eyes on the concrete below him. He didn't attempt to argue with his captor; he knew he was right. "Who are you?" He asked, unable to keep the hatred from his voice. "What's your vendetta against five teenagers in the first place?"

Rune slowly turned his body around to face him and lowered his voice to an eerie whisper. "I think you know who I am Tristan. I think you always have."

"What are you talking about?" Tristan growled. "If we had any clue who you were. We would have put you in the ground a long time ago."

"That's a nice sentiment," he smirked, "but are you sure Ollie would kill me?"

At the mention of his sister, the temperature in the room dropped instantly. "Of course she would after what you've put her through," he snarled. Ice from his hands slowly crept across the walls, growing toward Rune. "She hates you as much as we all do."

"Ah, I'd have to disagree." Rune slammed his fist against the wall and Tristan's ice shattered against the ground in barbed shards. "Don't even try," he snapped. "Who am I, Tristan? You know the answer."

"I don't know!" He screamed, shaking the shackles he was imprisoned in. Tristan narrowed his eyes and concentrated his attention directly on the shards of ice. All at once, the fragmented pieces lifted from the ground and shot directly toward Rune.

With only lifting his cape as a shield,  Rune deflected the piercing ice. Reaching down, he grabbed a spiked remnant and studied it. In one swift motion, Rune impaled the sliver through Tristan's shoulder to his back. "I warned you not to try anything," he growled, twisting the ice deeper into his ligaments with every word.

Tristan's blue eyes widened as he screamed through his teeth. He fell to his knees with a thump, unable to process any thought through the mind numbing pain. Blood soaked through his suit, staining the fabric a permanent indigo.

Rune reached down and grabbed another shard of ice. "Answer my question or this is going in your heart."

"What do you want me to say?" Tristan cried, his face twisted in pain and his voice broken.

"You know who I am. I know you saw me that night so many years ago," he growled, crossing the room until the dagger was inches away from Tristan's chest. A golden hue took over Rune's eyes until they were radiating a familiar aurous glow he'd only ever seen on one person. "You were just a child back then, but that was only the beginning."

Tristan shook his head over and over again until his hair shrouded his features. "No." Every bone and muscle in his body were on fire as the pain burned through his limbs. "No," he murmured, devastation laced in his voice. "He's dead. I don't believe you."

"Don't lie to me Tristan." Rune slowly lifted his hand across his face and his features began to change. His sandy blonde hair darkened to black until it was the same color as Tristan's. Each of his characteristics altered until they matched those of familiarity. Before him he saw features of his parents, his sister, and himself.

He saw his brother. Aaron.

Tristan stepped backward into the wall, trying to get as far away from him as possible. "You're lying," he bellowed, his face twisting in pain. "This- this is a trick," he stuttered, unable to speak.

"You know just as well as I that this is the truth."

"No!" Tristan screamed, his body crumpling to the ground. He buried his face into his shoulder and bit his lip to keep from crying until he tasted blood. "How could you?" He yelled, tears soaking his face. "You were my brother, how could you?" He screamed again in an angry and pained cry.

"Oh please," Aaron growled, anger finally present in his voice. "As if you ever treated me as a brother. As if Mom and Dad ever treated me the same after their precious twins were born. Why bother with a powerless son when you have two twins of fire and ice," he spat.

For the briefest of seconds, Aaron's eyes lost their golden glow and his entire posture slumped over. He opened his mouth to say something, but as soon as it happened, the evil glow returned. "Mom and Dad were your heroes right? Your inspiration?" He laughed scornfully. "They were my inspiration too. They inspired me to prove that the Contingency was nothing. So easily broken." His lips stretched into a satisfied smile looking at Tristan's broken figure. "And seeing the look on your face right now made everything I did, every person I killed, so worth it."

Tristan's heart ripped from his chest as his clouded eyes looked upon his brother. He couldn't open his mouth to speak or even form the words. He'd done this. He created the monster before him.

"You killed them," Tristan's voice was raw. "You set off the explosion, you killed Mom and Dad, you left me and Liv to rot--"

"OF COURSE I DID!" Aaron bellowed, eyes blazing with rage. "There was no other way to become what I am now."

"And what is that?" Tristan rebuffed, his pain turning to pure anger.

Aaron spread his arms and shadow magic trailed around his figure. "Powerful beyond belief. And you know it, Tristan"

"Really?" Tristan countered in disbelief. "Because all I know you are is a coward, hiding behind a mask of shadows and a fake name because you're afraid," he screamed, his voice growing stronger as he continued. "You're afraid of yourself and everyone around you."

A muscle twitched in Aaron's jaw. "When all this is said and done, I'll make sure that you're the last to die." He levitated an icicle from the ground. "And I hope your friends find you before you've lost too much blood."

Tristan's eyes widened as shadows wrapped around Aaron's face. Hidden behind his mask once more, Rune stabbed the icicle down into Tristan's thigh, past the Kevlar that should have been impenetrable.

"Aaron," Tristan breathed, the pain making his vision go foggy. The last thing he saw was Rune dissolving into shadows as three figures darted into the room, and then the world went black.