Bubble Boy

Exterior – Legion Plaza – Day

Banners fluttered high across the plaza. "WELCOME, EDEN!" flashed in bold green and red across massive holo-screens. Crowds filled the square, cameras pointed to the grand stage beneath the towering LEGION logo. This wasn't just a press event.

It was history.

Interior – Legion Tower – Dressing Room – Moments Before

Eidolon stood in front of the mirror.

His new suit gleamed, red-lined emerald with a leaf-patterned crest across the chest. A tribute to her. His hair was cut short and spiky, face clean-shaven, but the look in his eyes was still raw, still human.

Troy stood behind him, arms crossed. "You ready?"

Eidolon exhaled. "Not really."

Troy smirked. "Perfect. That means you're not faking it."

The two walked out together.

Exterior – Legion Plaza

Starman stood at the podium, towering, shining, yet strangely silent. Behind him stood the Legion: Bolt grinning wide, Construct waving to fans, Void dead-eyed as usual, Gladiator calm but tense, Mr. Mars ever unreadable and Seaman Stoic.

"Today," Starman finally said, voice carrying over the crowd, "a villain dies… and a hero is born."

He stepped aside.

Eidolon took the stage.

Silence.

Then cheers.

Loud, chaotic, beautiful.

Eidolon's throat tightened. He raised the mic with a shaking hand.

"I wasn't always a hero. I wasn't always… human. I was created to destroy. I nearly did."

The crowd stilled.

"But one girl reminded me I had a choice. She gave me a second chance, even when I didn't deserve one."

He looked straight into the camera.

"Garden Girl… Annie. This suit is for you. My life now… is because of you."

The applause thundered.

Nightingale Hospital – Medical Wing – Day

Annie, dressed in jeans and her usual worn hoodie, leaned against the wall with a crutch, watching the broadcast on the TV.

Sam beamed next to her. "He said your name! You're famous!"

Annie chuckled softly, hair healthy and skin flush. "Yeah. I guess I am."

She stared at the screen a moment longer.

Then smiled.

Interior – Legion Plaza – Later

Reporters swarmed. Starman gave one-word answers. Construct posed. Bolt made dumb faces at the camera.

Eidolon stepped down from the stage and walked through the crowd.

He was stopped by a child, a boy in a tattered cape.

"Are you… Eden?"

Eidolon knelt. "Yeah."

The boy smiled and offered a drawing, it was of Eidolon holding a flower.

Eidolon looked up at Troy, who just nodded.

Eidolon smiled back at the kid.

"Thanks, little man."

Interior – Legion Tower – Observation Deck – Night

Gladiator stood beside Troy again.

"You really believe he's changed?" she asked.

Troy watched Eden, his brother, being swarmed by fans down below.

"I think… he wants to."

"And Starman?"

Troy's eyes narrowed. "Still watching him."

She smirked. "Good. Someone has to."

They stood in silence, moonlight casting soft shadows behind them.

Exterior – City Rooftop – Same Time

Eidolon, now Eden, sat alone, cape fluttering in the breeze. He looked at the city.

Then at the stars.

He didn't feel like a monster tonight.

Just a man trying to bloom in the garden someone believed he could.

The next day.

Interior – Space – Low Earth Orbit – Training Zone

Silence.

Then a burst, BOOM!, a shockwave rolled across the void as Eden collided with a massive asteroid, cracking it in two. He drifted there, breathing heavy despite the vacuum.

A few clicks away, floated near a other asteroid Troy hovered, brow furrowed, hands glowing with translucent energy. He extended his fingers POP!, a small bubble shot out, exploded mid-space, and ricocheted into another destroying the asteroid.

"Better," Starman said, his voice echoing in their minds through psychic comms. "But still slow."

Starman floated between them, arms folded, cape unmoving in the vacuum.

"Again."

Troy grunted, wiped sweat off his brow. "We've been at this for six hours..."

"And I've fought for three eternities," Starman cut in, voice cold. "You want to be symbols of peace? Then stop whining. Again."

Eden smirked slightly. "He's got a point, Bubble Boy."

"Don't call me that in space," Troy muttered.

Exterior – Earth Orbit in Space – Minutes Later

Starman hurled a meteoroid the size of a truck toward them.

"Together."

Eden darted forward, eyes glowing red with a tint of green. He unleashed a focused energy bubble blast that slowed the meteoroid's velocity.

Troy followed up, launching a series of reinforced bubbles that wrapped around the chunk and froze it mid-air. One final snap of a gravity bubble hurled it in the opposite direction, directly into a floating target beacon.

BOOM! The beacon detonated with a silent flash.

Starman watched with unreadable eyes.

"…Good."

Eden floated beside Troy, both of them panting.

Troy turned to him. "We're really doing this, huh?"

"Yeah," Eden replied. "Guess we are."

There was a long pause.

"…You remind me of her," Troy said finally. "Annie. That stubborn hope."

Troy smiled softly. "She'd say you're still faking it."

Eden looked down at Earth. "Maybe. But I want to stop faking it."

Interior – Space Capsule – Later

The trio sat in silence.

Starman stared at a hologram of Earth, eyes narrowed.

"Why did you bring us here?" Troy finally asked.

Starman didn't answer immediately.

Then: "I needed to see if you two were worth it."

"Worth what?"

"…My legacy."

Troy blinked. "Your..."

"I've been worshipped as a god. Feared as a monster. I've ruled a hundred worlds and buried ten times as many," Starman said flatly. "But when I found out you were my son, Troy, I saw something I didn't expect… weakness. Compassion. Humanity."

He looked between both of them.

"I hated it. I hated you."

The silence was heavy.

"But you didn't break. You made me change. And now… if I fail… maybe one of you won't."

Eden leaned forward. "You think you'll fail?"

"I will fail," Starman said. "Everyone does. That's why I'm training you."

He stood up.

"Lesson's over."

He opened the airlock. A swirl of stars greeted them.

"One day," Starman said, eyes glowing, "I'll be gone. And the galaxy won't need another Starman. It'll need something better."

He flew off into space, vanishing into a gold blur.

Exterior – Space – Moments Later

Troy and Eden floated together, watching Earth spin below them.

"You think he meant all that?" Eden asked.

Troy nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think… he's trying."

They stayed there in silence, brothers not by blood, but by fire.

And somewhere, deep in the cold silence of space, a new symbol of peace was slowly beginning to shine.