Bubble Boy

Legion Tower — Midnight.

Rain splattered against the panoramic windows of the Legion's high-rise meeting room, thunder echoing like distant cannon fire.

The room was dimly lit. Bubble Boy sat at the head of the obsidian conference table, arms folded, cape draped stiff across his shoulders like a funeral flag. The bubble emblem on his chest shimmered, but it was... dull. Not dimmed by power, but intent.

He wasn't smiling.

Around him sat the New Legion.

Inferno, leaned back with his boots on the table, chewing a matchstick. "Alright, Bubbles, spill it. You dragged us outta bed for what?"

Umbra, face half-veiled in a living wisp of shadow, tilted his head. "Yeah... you've been quiet lately. And scary. Like, Batman-during-his-tax-season scary."

Void, regal and unreadable, rested her chin on her hands. "I can feel it too. The light bends around you... like it doesn't want to touch you."

Psion, eyes faintly glowing with psychic residue, glanced around nervously. "His thoughts are... layered. Guarded. Pain under pressure."

Eden, arms crossed, red bubble energy pulsing slowly under his skin, spoke last. "Troy. What's going on?"

Troy slowly stood.

He pressed a button on the console. The screen behind him lit up with gruesome images.

Crisp-edged symbols scorched into the earth. Ash piles. Bones arranged in worship circles. And one name repeated across different continents:

FLAME'S CONQUEST

He spoke, voice cold, deliberate. "They call themselves Flame's Conquest. They believe I'm a god. Not metaphorically. Literally. They think I am divinity reborn from fire and stars. And to 'empower me'…"

He clicked again.

The room stiffened. Images flicked by cultists in red hoods. Burned offerings. Girls. Teenagers. Virgins.

Sacrificed in his name.

Void looked away, her light flickering violently.

Umbra swore under his breath.

Inferno's match snapped in half.

Psion gasped. "Troy... this is—this is a death cult. Based on you?"

Troy didn't blink. "They chant my name before lighting the fire. They say they're preparing the world for my 'reign of cosmic flame.'"

Eden's jaw clenched. "Why are we just now hearing about this?"

Troy stared out the window.

"They've been active for months. I found the first site six weeks ago. Tracked the cult's movements. Studied their patterns. Every offering aligns with planetary events… and my movements."

Psion rose from her chair. "You didn't tell us? Not even me?"

He finally looked at her. "You'd have tried to stop me."

Inferno leaned forward, a low growl in his throat. "Stop you from what?"

Troy's hands curled into fists.

"From finding them all... and erasing them."

There was silence. Uneasy. Almost sacred.

Void's voice cut through it, low and cold. "That's not the Bubble Boy I knew."

Troy didn't deny it.

"I'm not him anymore."

Umbra's shadow flicked. "You're scaring us, man."

Troy stepped forward. Shadows clung to him like velvet.

"I don't want your fear. I want your help. Or your silence."

Eden stood too. "Troy. You're walking a line right now. A dangerous one."

Troy's stare sharpened. "Then stay off it."

The lights flickered.

Something unseen pressed into the room, like the gravity of his grief had gained mass.

And through Psion's eyes, a brief psychic flash:

Troy, surrounded by fire. Cloaked in a crown of stars. Not smiling. Not human.

She gasped, stumbling back.

He turned to her slowly. "You saw it, didn't you?"

Her voice trembled. "That's not you…"

His eyes shimmered.

"No. But maybe it has to be."

Elsewhere…

A secret cathedral.

Cultists kneel in red circles, heads bowed in the smoke. A molten altar glows at the center. Atop it, an old Polaroid of Troy, smiling at age 12, charred at the edges.

The High Flame Mother raises her staff.

"The Flame God awakens. The Conquest nears completion. The boy becomes the blaze."

Chanting swells.

And somewhere in the darkness, something ancient stirs.

Earth – The Raindrop Academy, Playground – Morning Recess

The rain hadn't let up, but that didn't stop the younger generation of heroes-in-training from playing in it. The playground was soaked, puddles glimmering like little portals to soggier worlds.

Seven-year-old Max, wild-haired and grinning, dove straight into the mud with reckless glee. His raincoat flapped behind him like a cape.

"Boom! Another monster slain by Captain Lightning-Mud!" he shouted, brandishing a stick like a sword.

His sister, Amy, nine and always two steps ahead of her brother in both brains and sass, rolled her eyes and held a plastic umbrella over both of them. "You're getting it in my boots again, Max."

"You don't get it! Heroes don't care about boots!" he shouted back, throwing a fistful of mud at nothing in particular.

Nearby, Jason, ten years old and already standing like someone who knew his lineage carried weight, crossed his arms. The Titan emblem on his jacket shimmered faintly with kinetic energy.

"Max, you're gonna catch lightning one day. Then you'll really be a Captain."

"Cool!" Max shouted, unfazed.

Amy ignored both of them and kicked a rock into a puddle. "It's not fair. Zoe got to go to space. With Starman. And Jace and Blaze and all the cool ones."

Jason looked at her calmly. "She didn't sneak in. She was chosen."

"Still," said Jack, one of the ten-year-old twins, plopping down dramatically on the wet slide. "We coulda hidden in a crate or something. My dad always says, 'If you're smart, you'll find a way in.'"

Jill, his sister, adjusted her purple beanie. "Your dad also thought hot sauce was eye drops once."

Jack paused. "...Fair."

Amy sighed. "I could've helped! I can make lasers now! Actual lasers."

Max raised his arms. "And I can punch through two walls without crying now!"

Jason finally cracked a small smile. "Guys, listen. They're out there for a reason. Fighting something big. But we're here for a reason too."

They all looked at him.

Jason straightened his back, like he was quoting someone. Maybe Eden. Or maybe Gladiator.

"We're the next generation. We don't just fight, we protect. The Earth's not empty while they're gone. And the future? That's us. It's our duty."

Amy blinked, then groaned. "Ugh. You sound like a dad already."

Max added, "I'm gonna be the cool hero. You know, like… one who swears."

Jason smirked. "Swear on your report card and Void's gonna ground you for a year."

Max turned pale. "...I take it back."

The five of them burst into laughter, puddles splashing, the world lighter in this corner of it.

Above them, the clouds rumbled again. Not quite thunder. More like a warning.

But the kids didn't flinch.

Not yet.