Post by milo on Apr 25, 2009 21:59:48 GMT -5
The Rise and Fall of FLUX
Flux
Flux, under codename Project Gateway, was a team under governmental control. Though the government denies their involvement, they were a team used to combat mutant terrorism, acting through government liason Valerie Cooper. When things are mutant against mutant, anything goes...
They were bailed out countless times by the government they served and took in many criminals to fight for their cause. There were times that their members went rogue, proving to be more harmful to their work than beneficial. Some got along alright, finding friends among those brought in. Such was usually the case with the younger ones.
One of the team's lead figures was Polaris, daughter of Magneto. While she hadn't done anything wrong really, it was the fact she was Magneto's daughter that landed her in FLUX's grip. She kept the cool among the members most of the time and grew fond of two in particular, a youth with similar powers to her one that went by Sparky and couldn't touch anyone without shocking them, and Imp, a girl who could generate spines and had a rather demonic appearance. Imp was nabbed up, being in the wrong place at the wrong time though she had done no wrong. Dexter was in search of a cure for his sister's illness, a fatal thing it was. He was willing to work in exchnage for aid, although he did have other means of finding his own way even without legalities involved. It wasn't a matter of choosing sides, but of picking which path would aid him best to allow him to help his sister. Sparky was a criminal, a young mutant who got by on cons and stealing. One thing they had in common was the fact that once they were grabbed from the streets, they were put in a hardened criminal facility where their powers were "cut off" and they were hurt and violated. In was that horror that helped bond them together. That and the fact each had a problem with a "lucky" mutant named Marcus Tallon, who was a government agent who had supernatural wonderful luck. While Polaris and Marcus didn't get along, Imp and Sparky both had a bit of a soft spot for him. That was why they were able to work together best, even without Val Cooper having to force them or lead the charge.
Sparky fell into the wrong crowd rather often, from hanging with the Juggernaut and even a crocadile man who ate people and went by Deathroll, to following two FLUX members known to be highly dangerous and rather mentally unstable, Oz and Lilith. They were hardened criminals. Killers. And Sparky wasn't exactly stable himself.
Another addition was Gabriel Dross, a temperamental mutant who had the power of fire. While Imp found a friend in him, Sparky seemed to grow more and more secluded from the group. They still did their hero work together, but often Polaris would watch from afar as Sparky took off on his own, to train.. and to go play lone hero. It was a change from him brooding anyway.
It was when Deacon Anderson came that things took a bad turn. Imp found herself uncertain, questioning herself even more while Polaris was just generally annoyed. Sparky clashed with the new figure of authority. Quite often. His lack of control and Deacon's attitude didn't mesh with the rebelling teen.
Sparky began more late night hero do-gooding on his own, struggling to refine his abilities even with Polaris' help. One night he was watching the fireworks, out on patrol as was the norm, just trying to get away from the stress of hi unusual home life. That night things changed forever.
He had gained a bit of a reputation for his deeds, not one to care too much about the media. Sparky was glimpsed at, talked with his bouncy charisma, and many stories were written on him and his abilities because he just wasn't careful about being seen like the other FLUX members usually were. It caught up with him and he had gone from zero to hero.
The Rise
It was a late night wandering. One of those where Sparky found himself bored. He was out of tinkering ideas, didn't feel like studying or toying with his music and he was restless. So Sparky broke curfew to go take a walk. One of his favorite places included the electrical plant where most of the city's power was distributed. He could feel the power and it made him feel at home. The youth merely wandered, walking to get out some of that built up energy inside and at times surfing on his Cloudkicker to do the same. It was a spark of luck perhaps that Sparky was present. Shouting ensued from within the plant and he stared, watching a small group of punks run out from the broken in doors.
It was then that he felt it, the surge of electrical energy increase. Transformers were blowing and there was screaming coming from inside, those who worked there this shift. Flux had given him a sense of duty and while there were times he'd have just watched or perhaps tried to call for help, Sparky rushed in with no concern for himself. Wires were mismatched and coils were cut. The place was sure to explode from the surges and live wires kept workers trapped. It was painful but nothing too challenging for Sparky to remove the electric life from those wires even as the heat burned his hands. It was enough to let the workers escape. Sparky managed to stop one and ask where the main source of failure was and was directed to it, even if he could feel it.
The city was losing power in multiple sectors and there was worry panic might ensue. But the power outage only lasted a total of five minutes. Sparky was hard at work, feeling out the signatures of what wires went where and forcing them to again maintain the flow of power, meanwhile steadily draining the overflow into himself and using it to again restore other sectors of power. The whole ordeal lasted under ten minutes but felt like forever. In the end everything was normal once more. Everything but Sparky. He was hyper. Extremely so. So much that when he was fleeing, Sparky dared wave and strike a pose for the camera before his field made the camera lose its grounds. He left the scene with the area fixed and under control, a power outage lasting mere minutes, and an image of him for the media.
That image showed up in papers, Sparky surfing on his Cloudkicker disk with a large cheesey grin and a wave being given directly to the camera. And with Jack the monkey poking her head out from his backpack.
The media had a field day relating the young electro mutant to John Ohm. Little John. Kid John. Johnny Be Good in reference to the past electro that caused issues. Many stories blamed the youth for the outage and events but some kept to the story's truth, labeling him a hero as there was electrical proof and witnesses that saw the youth put himself in danger to save them and restore power. Plus the fact that cameras caught the punks responsible for the mess in the first place. Some sort of gang dare initiation apparently. But now the media is in question of Little John and exactly where he's from and what side he's on.
Over the past month these sort of tales have been popping up in the media causing good and mostly bad publicity in more ways then one.
Temper Temper
One such bad publicity was dependent on who saw.. and someone very, very bad saw..
The woods were particularly tranquil that evening. The wooden cottage that Johnny called home now was dimly lit by the dancing flames that remained in the fireplace, and the silence was broken by a wind-up phonograph playing the vinyl records of Dr. Hook.
It was becoming quite dark outside, he noted as he finished his dinner. Johnny had such a peaceful look on him that it would have been very difficult for anyone to recognize him. But suddenly, it vanished. He had felt it, very faintly at first but soon getting closer and closer. The dog, who had been laying on the bed peacefully, raised his head at the same time.
“You smell it too, don’t you?” Blue eyes peered into the darkness, trying to see what the taste on the back of his mouth was warning him about. It had been weeks since he had tasted it, but it was unmistakable. “Hold the fort, boy” he whispered to the dog as he moved out of the door, not before grabbing the pair of odd goggles and a cowboy hat that hung from what was supposed to be a coat-hanger.
He waited outside; leaning on door to the barn-like structure next to the cottage. A grin. The taste had ceased. The vehicle had stopped exactly a mile down the road… this person had been here before. He was… disappointed.
Moments later, an old man came through the woods, closing in to the cottage. The black retriever started a barking symphony from one of the windows.
“Perfect night for a thunderstorm, don’t you think, Rick?” said Johnny, walking away from the barn while swinging those goggles on the fingers of his left hand.
“Oh, come on, Johnny, I know it wasn’t time to visit yet but…”
“No, not at all. I was just making conversation. It –has- been a while, you know.” He added. Johnny seemed so sincere in every word he spoke but, those who had dealt with him in the past knew not to let their guard down. “So why the early visit?”
“Th--“ He stuttered. “There’s something I wanted to show you. I think you should take a look at this.” The old man handed him a copy of the New York Times. It was about a month-old, and he moved close to the cottage’s window to read clearly.
There were pictures of his older self, and vague, blurry pictures of the new one. But none of them as big as the image of a cheesy-looking teenager posing for the camera. John Ohm. They wouldn’t even spell his name right. And there was no allegory to Zeus, Lightning-God or anything remotely like it. Johnny-be-good. He started to laugh.
“Rick, you drove all this way to show me this?” he asked, still laughing, slapping the old man on the back. But before the old man had a chance to respond, Johnny gripped him by the neck a bit too tightly “You did good. But if you value your life you will get away from here as fast as possible” he added suddenly with a very serious look on his face. “And take Cujo with you, he’s been good.” He smiled, and Rick started nod and run away, looking back from time to time… he wanted to –see- it after all.
Johnny walked back inside the cottage and kicked the dog, yelling. “You too get the fuck out!” and the dog ran away, following the old man, barking. The goggles, the stainless-steel coated cowboy boots and his favorite pair of jeans. Once he had all he needed, he kicked the barn door open, and started the enormous generator that had been hidden inside it.
Slowly, the darkness was pierced by two circles of light that grew in intensity -his goggles holding the energy from bursting out of his eyes. He started to feel like himself again. Thin filaments of electricity arched trough his back, shoulders and head as he carefully studied the picture on the paper.
“Count your days, son” he said as the paper started to burn in his hands.
Rick and the dog heard the maniacal laugh of Johnny Ohm echoing through the woods seconds before a huge column of light dropped from the sky. “Darn, he was right…” it -was- the perfect night for a thunderstorm....
The Fall
Polaris watched Sparky leave that night, not knowing it would be the last she'd see of him for quite some time to come. Many nights she watched him go off on his own. They all knew he did it. But there was no harm. He wasn't breaking any laws. Just the opposite.
That night there was a commotion at a powerplant. Just Sparky's sort of thing. He figured some kids broke in and caused some havoc. There was havoc alright. But it wasn't from any kids.
Sparky arrived on his flying disc and at once set to righting the currents. Among all the energy signatures in the air, he didn't pick up on the one that mattered most. It hit him and it hit hard, a surge of pure raw power being sent right through him, burning his veins and heating the flesh. Ohm had nailed the kid on the spot, sending him falling with that one good hit. Sparky didn't stay down though. It was just the start. He began using the power he absorbed to right the currents and circuits of the plant, Ohm zapping him with the power he himself absorbed from the plant. It was a circuit. A cycle. Sparky used it to his advantage, not thinking that the whole time Ohm was merely studying him, testing what he could do and how much he could handle.
This went on for a while, Ohm ripping apart the plant while Sparky strained to keep the chaos controlled and distract Ohm from the workers still trying to escape. Sparky kept up the banter with his rival, finding out he had been searched for. It was a setup. He was the target. It was when Ohm reversed things that the real trouble began. He was still taking energy. But not from the plant, just from Sparky himself. Sparky's body went into generation mode and he began to lose what control he had, Ohm taking hold of the electrical field that coursed through his very being. While he could never levitate on his own before, he was now.. and was promptly being thrown into metal tubes and cables that shattered his body. All the while Sparky kept fighting.
But he couldn't keep it up.
Sparky didn't give up, even going as far as to spit in Ohm's face at the end when he was being mocked. One good jolt was all it took from Ohm's foot crashing to his chest. It was over. The hero fell, his eyes shutting for what very well should have been the last time.
Capture of the Pawn
It was days before he opened his eyes again. He felt... nothing. It wasn't that Sparky was numb.. it was that there was no energy traces for miles around. No electricity. No signals. Nothing. Except.. a very, very tiny trace... which was no more then five feet from him. Upon trying to speak, he found he couldn't. There was a tube shoved down his throat, one up his nose. His wounds were bandaged and stitched.. and despite being out for days, he felt no hunger.. no pain. Ohm had rigged up a medical system to keep him in shape while he healed and woke. Sparky was kept alive.
The weakness was what hit first. Laying there and with a lack of power.. it was unlike anything he felt before. When he had gotten up, he couldn't run. He was too weak.. Ohm didn't seem to care at the time, telling him how remote the place was. How there was no place to run. Nothing electrical to draw power from. Sparky was trapped. Ohm headed outside and told him to come when he felt.. but don't be too long.
He followed.. only to have Ohm rip the tubes from him, making him puke in reaction. Then it began. Sparky ran. Ohm knew exactly where he was, sensing the energy flowing through him that was the electricity the boy generated. He followed.
Night after night. Day after day.
The game of cat and mouse went on, each day Ohm overwhelming Sparky, forcing more and more power into him like an over-charged battery. Try as he might, he found he couldn't release it as fast as Ohm was pumping it into him. It got to the point that Sparky was always overcharged, always in a constant high, always in a constant state of paranoia as his crazed mind had no restraint. Each step sent sparks from his form. Each touch created a static link and energy pattern. No matter how much he released, the power generated and built right back up inside of him.
Then Ohm began his.. training.
Sparky was forced to release what was built up in great bursts. Forced to learn to keep up with Ohm draining him, using him as a battery since he couldn't generate his own power.
It went on..
One night Sparky had found a weak spot with Ohm.. an argument of power. Sparky was obsessed with Magneto. He always had been, despite never meeting the man. Ohm had worked with Magneto at one point. Their argument of power and control turned into a battle of ability and power, of energy and electricity. It was a stalemate when they both lost the energy they had.. only Ohm lost it while he was holding on to the side of a cliff. Sparky was losing power, stuck levitating and unable to control it. What he did do.. was unexpected.
Sparky used what control he had to propel Ohm up and over the cliff as he lost his grip, saving his life. But he lost the ability to fly. Faltering, he went down the cliffside, trying desperately to regain the control he had. Tracked on to his energy signature, when there was one last final burst of power, his Cloudkicker went flying past Ohm and down the cliffside into the darkness.
There was no trace. Not even an energy signature. Nothing.
Ohm stared.. then turned away. But then he felt it. A build up of power. A different energy signature than before. Clutching the broken remains of his disk, Sparky came up and over the cliff, power failing and causing him to hit the ground and roll hard. He lived. He evolved.
King Me
The relationship between Ohm and Sparky changed then. Sparky realized he was gaining more control. Getting stronger. And best of all, he could actually touch Ohm without problems. A simple pat on the back actually made all the difference when he was used to no contact. A sort of trust built and their training sessions became stricter. Rigorous.. but looked forward to by them both. Storms were regular parties for them both, unlimited power to test their abilities against each other, to try and control the power field of the other. It was a huge change to Sparky. He was used to Polaris taking control of his powers, cutting them on and off at will. Before he was taken, her hold on him was weakening. Now.. well.. she wasn't around so he didn't care much.
The truth was that Ohm had removed and destroyed the device FLUX used to track Sparky.. and they were so remote that despite all their efforts, the team couldn't find their missing member. It was presumed he was killed but Polaris and Imp didn't believe it. Imp came from Xavier's school and Polaris knew of it well. They teamed together, trying to think of a way to get help by use of Cerebro tracking Sparky without leading the government right to the mutant haven.
Just as Polaris was willing to turn to her father for help, news hit hard that there were two mutants wreaking havoc. Sparky and Ohm had teamed up to take down a radio tower that was linked to a satellite that was interfering with their ability to sense energy signatures. FLUX arrived and couldn't believe it. Sparky was working with Ohm. Or so they thought. The truth was, the boy didn't like what they were doing. He just couldn't break away. Ohm used Sparky like a generator, giving himself nearly unlimited energy at his disposal.
Imp couldn't stand to fight her former comrade. Polaris... well.. Sparky felt the blast nail him in the back.. only it was absorbed due to Ohm's training. Still.. she had struck him. She had been aiming for Ohm.. but the blast targeted Sparky due to the higher energy signature. All the rage and angst of the teenager was unleashed in the force of an electric storm that shook the city.
Ohm grabbed Sparky and they escaped that day. And days after that. He gained the nickname of "Lil John" due to his association. Sparky was never far from Ohm. He was too valuable to be let out on a long leash. Ohm went with him everywhere.. and Sparky went everywhere Ohm did, helping and aiding him.
One day news hit Sparky that a crocodile man had been seen working with the FLUX team, only to try to escape and be brought down. Deathroll. Sparky used to visit him in the sewers and feed him to keep him from eating people. He even introduced the idea of clothing to the feral mutant. It was the first job that Sparky talked Ohm into. A breakout. An attack of FLUX itself. Ohm thought Sparky finally switched sides. That he was done with his whole life sensitive issues of harming people. Truth was.. Sparky knew how bad things could be for someone who didn't follow "their" rules.
Sparky led the assault on FLUX, enlisting the help of the Juggernaut for a hefty price. With such strength and durability and the power between Ohm's control and his own generation, they attacked. Things took a surprising twist when Polaris was detained by her father, Magneto. He hadn't been a part of the attack.. but he liked to observe. It was a game of chess and steadily he had watched a pawn rise to king. Sparky knew the FLUX complex inside and out. He hadn't been everywhere, but he felt where power traveled, the route it took and where it went to as well as its purpose. He knew Deathroll's energy signature.. and tracked it. The Juggernaut followed, busting through any obstacle in their path.. and ultimately Deathroll's tank cell.
There was another twist when Sparky saw Ohm... toying with Imp. Polaris screamed, knowing the blast flying at the demon girl would mean death and she was pinned into the wall by her own spines. The blast hit and hit hard... but not her. Sparky took it.. and nearly fried himself in the process. The tabled turned with his defiance and intervention and Ohm wasn't pleased with what he saw as betrayal.
Sources aren't clear as the government took a great deal of time and effort to cover up the disaster.. but Polaris was freed... Ohm disappeared again.. Deathroll escaped.. Imp returned to her old life... FLUX fell. Marcus went his own way on another job as did Deacon. Gabriel became overly violent and a for a while joined up with Lilith and Oz before breaking off on his own terrorization. Dexter found his sister was helped, saved. Although, it was not by his own means. There really was no cause for him to stick around and it didn't take long for him to head off and make his own way, on for some new quest or knowledge or to just make it through, survive and live.
For a while it was thought that Ohm killed Sparky.. but power outages and certain energy traces say otherwise. It is thought that both Ohm and Polaris still search for that missing spark.
Flux
Flux, under codename Project Gateway, was a team under governmental control. Though the government denies their involvement, they were a team used to combat mutant terrorism, acting through government liason Valerie Cooper. When things are mutant against mutant, anything goes...
They were bailed out countless times by the government they served and took in many criminals to fight for their cause. There were times that their members went rogue, proving to be more harmful to their work than beneficial. Some got along alright, finding friends among those brought in. Such was usually the case with the younger ones.
One of the team's lead figures was Polaris, daughter of Magneto. While she hadn't done anything wrong really, it was the fact she was Magneto's daughter that landed her in FLUX's grip. She kept the cool among the members most of the time and grew fond of two in particular, a youth with similar powers to her one that went by Sparky and couldn't touch anyone without shocking them, and Imp, a girl who could generate spines and had a rather demonic appearance. Imp was nabbed up, being in the wrong place at the wrong time though she had done no wrong. Dexter was in search of a cure for his sister's illness, a fatal thing it was. He was willing to work in exchnage for aid, although he did have other means of finding his own way even without legalities involved. It wasn't a matter of choosing sides, but of picking which path would aid him best to allow him to help his sister. Sparky was a criminal, a young mutant who got by on cons and stealing. One thing they had in common was the fact that once they were grabbed from the streets, they were put in a hardened criminal facility where their powers were "cut off" and they were hurt and violated. In was that horror that helped bond them together. That and the fact each had a problem with a "lucky" mutant named Marcus Tallon, who was a government agent who had supernatural wonderful luck. While Polaris and Marcus didn't get along, Imp and Sparky both had a bit of a soft spot for him. That was why they were able to work together best, even without Val Cooper having to force them or lead the charge.
Sparky fell into the wrong crowd rather often, from hanging with the Juggernaut and even a crocadile man who ate people and went by Deathroll, to following two FLUX members known to be highly dangerous and rather mentally unstable, Oz and Lilith. They were hardened criminals. Killers. And Sparky wasn't exactly stable himself.
Another addition was Gabriel Dross, a temperamental mutant who had the power of fire. While Imp found a friend in him, Sparky seemed to grow more and more secluded from the group. They still did their hero work together, but often Polaris would watch from afar as Sparky took off on his own, to train.. and to go play lone hero. It was a change from him brooding anyway.
It was when Deacon Anderson came that things took a bad turn. Imp found herself uncertain, questioning herself even more while Polaris was just generally annoyed. Sparky clashed with the new figure of authority. Quite often. His lack of control and Deacon's attitude didn't mesh with the rebelling teen.
Sparky began more late night hero do-gooding on his own, struggling to refine his abilities even with Polaris' help. One night he was watching the fireworks, out on patrol as was the norm, just trying to get away from the stress of hi unusual home life. That night things changed forever.
He had gained a bit of a reputation for his deeds, not one to care too much about the media. Sparky was glimpsed at, talked with his bouncy charisma, and many stories were written on him and his abilities because he just wasn't careful about being seen like the other FLUX members usually were. It caught up with him and he had gone from zero to hero.
The Rise
It was a late night wandering. One of those where Sparky found himself bored. He was out of tinkering ideas, didn't feel like studying or toying with his music and he was restless. So Sparky broke curfew to go take a walk. One of his favorite places included the electrical plant where most of the city's power was distributed. He could feel the power and it made him feel at home. The youth merely wandered, walking to get out some of that built up energy inside and at times surfing on his Cloudkicker to do the same. It was a spark of luck perhaps that Sparky was present. Shouting ensued from within the plant and he stared, watching a small group of punks run out from the broken in doors.
It was then that he felt it, the surge of electrical energy increase. Transformers were blowing and there was screaming coming from inside, those who worked there this shift. Flux had given him a sense of duty and while there were times he'd have just watched or perhaps tried to call for help, Sparky rushed in with no concern for himself. Wires were mismatched and coils were cut. The place was sure to explode from the surges and live wires kept workers trapped. It was painful but nothing too challenging for Sparky to remove the electric life from those wires even as the heat burned his hands. It was enough to let the workers escape. Sparky managed to stop one and ask where the main source of failure was and was directed to it, even if he could feel it.
The city was losing power in multiple sectors and there was worry panic might ensue. But the power outage only lasted a total of five minutes. Sparky was hard at work, feeling out the signatures of what wires went where and forcing them to again maintain the flow of power, meanwhile steadily draining the overflow into himself and using it to again restore other sectors of power. The whole ordeal lasted under ten minutes but felt like forever. In the end everything was normal once more. Everything but Sparky. He was hyper. Extremely so. So much that when he was fleeing, Sparky dared wave and strike a pose for the camera before his field made the camera lose its grounds. He left the scene with the area fixed and under control, a power outage lasting mere minutes, and an image of him for the media.
That image showed up in papers, Sparky surfing on his Cloudkicker disk with a large cheesey grin and a wave being given directly to the camera. And with Jack the monkey poking her head out from his backpack.
The media had a field day relating the young electro mutant to John Ohm. Little John. Kid John. Johnny Be Good in reference to the past electro that caused issues. Many stories blamed the youth for the outage and events but some kept to the story's truth, labeling him a hero as there was electrical proof and witnesses that saw the youth put himself in danger to save them and restore power. Plus the fact that cameras caught the punks responsible for the mess in the first place. Some sort of gang dare initiation apparently. But now the media is in question of Little John and exactly where he's from and what side he's on.
Over the past month these sort of tales have been popping up in the media causing good and mostly bad publicity in more ways then one.
Temper Temper
One such bad publicity was dependent on who saw.. and someone very, very bad saw..
The woods were particularly tranquil that evening. The wooden cottage that Johnny called home now was dimly lit by the dancing flames that remained in the fireplace, and the silence was broken by a wind-up phonograph playing the vinyl records of Dr. Hook.
It was becoming quite dark outside, he noted as he finished his dinner. Johnny had such a peaceful look on him that it would have been very difficult for anyone to recognize him. But suddenly, it vanished. He had felt it, very faintly at first but soon getting closer and closer. The dog, who had been laying on the bed peacefully, raised his head at the same time.
“You smell it too, don’t you?” Blue eyes peered into the darkness, trying to see what the taste on the back of his mouth was warning him about. It had been weeks since he had tasted it, but it was unmistakable. “Hold the fort, boy” he whispered to the dog as he moved out of the door, not before grabbing the pair of odd goggles and a cowboy hat that hung from what was supposed to be a coat-hanger.
He waited outside; leaning on door to the barn-like structure next to the cottage. A grin. The taste had ceased. The vehicle had stopped exactly a mile down the road… this person had been here before. He was… disappointed.
Moments later, an old man came through the woods, closing in to the cottage. The black retriever started a barking symphony from one of the windows.
“Perfect night for a thunderstorm, don’t you think, Rick?” said Johnny, walking away from the barn while swinging those goggles on the fingers of his left hand.
“Oh, come on, Johnny, I know it wasn’t time to visit yet but…”
“No, not at all. I was just making conversation. It –has- been a while, you know.” He added. Johnny seemed so sincere in every word he spoke but, those who had dealt with him in the past knew not to let their guard down. “So why the early visit?”
“Th--“ He stuttered. “There’s something I wanted to show you. I think you should take a look at this.” The old man handed him a copy of the New York Times. It was about a month-old, and he moved close to the cottage’s window to read clearly.
There were pictures of his older self, and vague, blurry pictures of the new one. But none of them as big as the image of a cheesy-looking teenager posing for the camera. John Ohm. They wouldn’t even spell his name right. And there was no allegory to Zeus, Lightning-God or anything remotely like it. Johnny-be-good. He started to laugh.
“Rick, you drove all this way to show me this?” he asked, still laughing, slapping the old man on the back. But before the old man had a chance to respond, Johnny gripped him by the neck a bit too tightly “You did good. But if you value your life you will get away from here as fast as possible” he added suddenly with a very serious look on his face. “And take Cujo with you, he’s been good.” He smiled, and Rick started nod and run away, looking back from time to time… he wanted to –see- it after all.
Johnny walked back inside the cottage and kicked the dog, yelling. “You too get the fuck out!” and the dog ran away, following the old man, barking. The goggles, the stainless-steel coated cowboy boots and his favorite pair of jeans. Once he had all he needed, he kicked the barn door open, and started the enormous generator that had been hidden inside it.
Slowly, the darkness was pierced by two circles of light that grew in intensity -his goggles holding the energy from bursting out of his eyes. He started to feel like himself again. Thin filaments of electricity arched trough his back, shoulders and head as he carefully studied the picture on the paper.
“Count your days, son” he said as the paper started to burn in his hands.
Rick and the dog heard the maniacal laugh of Johnny Ohm echoing through the woods seconds before a huge column of light dropped from the sky. “Darn, he was right…” it -was- the perfect night for a thunderstorm....
The Fall
Polaris watched Sparky leave that night, not knowing it would be the last she'd see of him for quite some time to come. Many nights she watched him go off on his own. They all knew he did it. But there was no harm. He wasn't breaking any laws. Just the opposite.
That night there was a commotion at a powerplant. Just Sparky's sort of thing. He figured some kids broke in and caused some havoc. There was havoc alright. But it wasn't from any kids.
Sparky arrived on his flying disc and at once set to righting the currents. Among all the energy signatures in the air, he didn't pick up on the one that mattered most. It hit him and it hit hard, a surge of pure raw power being sent right through him, burning his veins and heating the flesh. Ohm had nailed the kid on the spot, sending him falling with that one good hit. Sparky didn't stay down though. It was just the start. He began using the power he absorbed to right the currents and circuits of the plant, Ohm zapping him with the power he himself absorbed from the plant. It was a circuit. A cycle. Sparky used it to his advantage, not thinking that the whole time Ohm was merely studying him, testing what he could do and how much he could handle.
This went on for a while, Ohm ripping apart the plant while Sparky strained to keep the chaos controlled and distract Ohm from the workers still trying to escape. Sparky kept up the banter with his rival, finding out he had been searched for. It was a setup. He was the target. It was when Ohm reversed things that the real trouble began. He was still taking energy. But not from the plant, just from Sparky himself. Sparky's body went into generation mode and he began to lose what control he had, Ohm taking hold of the electrical field that coursed through his very being. While he could never levitate on his own before, he was now.. and was promptly being thrown into metal tubes and cables that shattered his body. All the while Sparky kept fighting.
But he couldn't keep it up.
Sparky didn't give up, even going as far as to spit in Ohm's face at the end when he was being mocked. One good jolt was all it took from Ohm's foot crashing to his chest. It was over. The hero fell, his eyes shutting for what very well should have been the last time.
Capture of the Pawn
It was days before he opened his eyes again. He felt... nothing. It wasn't that Sparky was numb.. it was that there was no energy traces for miles around. No electricity. No signals. Nothing. Except.. a very, very tiny trace... which was no more then five feet from him. Upon trying to speak, he found he couldn't. There was a tube shoved down his throat, one up his nose. His wounds were bandaged and stitched.. and despite being out for days, he felt no hunger.. no pain. Ohm had rigged up a medical system to keep him in shape while he healed and woke. Sparky was kept alive.
The weakness was what hit first. Laying there and with a lack of power.. it was unlike anything he felt before. When he had gotten up, he couldn't run. He was too weak.. Ohm didn't seem to care at the time, telling him how remote the place was. How there was no place to run. Nothing electrical to draw power from. Sparky was trapped. Ohm headed outside and told him to come when he felt.. but don't be too long.
He followed.. only to have Ohm rip the tubes from him, making him puke in reaction. Then it began. Sparky ran. Ohm knew exactly where he was, sensing the energy flowing through him that was the electricity the boy generated. He followed.
Night after night. Day after day.
The game of cat and mouse went on, each day Ohm overwhelming Sparky, forcing more and more power into him like an over-charged battery. Try as he might, he found he couldn't release it as fast as Ohm was pumping it into him. It got to the point that Sparky was always overcharged, always in a constant high, always in a constant state of paranoia as his crazed mind had no restraint. Each step sent sparks from his form. Each touch created a static link and energy pattern. No matter how much he released, the power generated and built right back up inside of him.
Then Ohm began his.. training.
Sparky was forced to release what was built up in great bursts. Forced to learn to keep up with Ohm draining him, using him as a battery since he couldn't generate his own power.
It went on..
One night Sparky had found a weak spot with Ohm.. an argument of power. Sparky was obsessed with Magneto. He always had been, despite never meeting the man. Ohm had worked with Magneto at one point. Their argument of power and control turned into a battle of ability and power, of energy and electricity. It was a stalemate when they both lost the energy they had.. only Ohm lost it while he was holding on to the side of a cliff. Sparky was losing power, stuck levitating and unable to control it. What he did do.. was unexpected.
Sparky used what control he had to propel Ohm up and over the cliff as he lost his grip, saving his life. But he lost the ability to fly. Faltering, he went down the cliffside, trying desperately to regain the control he had. Tracked on to his energy signature, when there was one last final burst of power, his Cloudkicker went flying past Ohm and down the cliffside into the darkness.
There was no trace. Not even an energy signature. Nothing.
Ohm stared.. then turned away. But then he felt it. A build up of power. A different energy signature than before. Clutching the broken remains of his disk, Sparky came up and over the cliff, power failing and causing him to hit the ground and roll hard. He lived. He evolved.
King Me
The relationship between Ohm and Sparky changed then. Sparky realized he was gaining more control. Getting stronger. And best of all, he could actually touch Ohm without problems. A simple pat on the back actually made all the difference when he was used to no contact. A sort of trust built and their training sessions became stricter. Rigorous.. but looked forward to by them both. Storms were regular parties for them both, unlimited power to test their abilities against each other, to try and control the power field of the other. It was a huge change to Sparky. He was used to Polaris taking control of his powers, cutting them on and off at will. Before he was taken, her hold on him was weakening. Now.. well.. she wasn't around so he didn't care much.
The truth was that Ohm had removed and destroyed the device FLUX used to track Sparky.. and they were so remote that despite all their efforts, the team couldn't find their missing member. It was presumed he was killed but Polaris and Imp didn't believe it. Imp came from Xavier's school and Polaris knew of it well. They teamed together, trying to think of a way to get help by use of Cerebro tracking Sparky without leading the government right to the mutant haven.
Just as Polaris was willing to turn to her father for help, news hit hard that there were two mutants wreaking havoc. Sparky and Ohm had teamed up to take down a radio tower that was linked to a satellite that was interfering with their ability to sense energy signatures. FLUX arrived and couldn't believe it. Sparky was working with Ohm. Or so they thought. The truth was, the boy didn't like what they were doing. He just couldn't break away. Ohm used Sparky like a generator, giving himself nearly unlimited energy at his disposal.
Imp couldn't stand to fight her former comrade. Polaris... well.. Sparky felt the blast nail him in the back.. only it was absorbed due to Ohm's training. Still.. she had struck him. She had been aiming for Ohm.. but the blast targeted Sparky due to the higher energy signature. All the rage and angst of the teenager was unleashed in the force of an electric storm that shook the city.
Ohm grabbed Sparky and they escaped that day. And days after that. He gained the nickname of "Lil John" due to his association. Sparky was never far from Ohm. He was too valuable to be let out on a long leash. Ohm went with him everywhere.. and Sparky went everywhere Ohm did, helping and aiding him.
One day news hit Sparky that a crocodile man had been seen working with the FLUX team, only to try to escape and be brought down. Deathroll. Sparky used to visit him in the sewers and feed him to keep him from eating people. He even introduced the idea of clothing to the feral mutant. It was the first job that Sparky talked Ohm into. A breakout. An attack of FLUX itself. Ohm thought Sparky finally switched sides. That he was done with his whole life sensitive issues of harming people. Truth was.. Sparky knew how bad things could be for someone who didn't follow "their" rules.
Sparky led the assault on FLUX, enlisting the help of the Juggernaut for a hefty price. With such strength and durability and the power between Ohm's control and his own generation, they attacked. Things took a surprising twist when Polaris was detained by her father, Magneto. He hadn't been a part of the attack.. but he liked to observe. It was a game of chess and steadily he had watched a pawn rise to king. Sparky knew the FLUX complex inside and out. He hadn't been everywhere, but he felt where power traveled, the route it took and where it went to as well as its purpose. He knew Deathroll's energy signature.. and tracked it. The Juggernaut followed, busting through any obstacle in their path.. and ultimately Deathroll's tank cell.
There was another twist when Sparky saw Ohm... toying with Imp. Polaris screamed, knowing the blast flying at the demon girl would mean death and she was pinned into the wall by her own spines. The blast hit and hit hard... but not her. Sparky took it.. and nearly fried himself in the process. The tabled turned with his defiance and intervention and Ohm wasn't pleased with what he saw as betrayal.
Sources aren't clear as the government took a great deal of time and effort to cover up the disaster.. but Polaris was freed... Ohm disappeared again.. Deathroll escaped.. Imp returned to her old life... FLUX fell. Marcus went his own way on another job as did Deacon. Gabriel became overly violent and a for a while joined up with Lilith and Oz before breaking off on his own terrorization. Dexter found his sister was helped, saved. Although, it was not by his own means. There really was no cause for him to stick around and it didn't take long for him to head off and make his own way, on for some new quest or knowledge or to just make it through, survive and live.
For a while it was thought that Ohm killed Sparky.. but power outages and certain energy traces say otherwise. It is thought that both Ohm and Polaris still search for that missing spark.