ERA of Challenge #12: Coldcrash

PART I: NOSTALGIA
One Week Ago
Founders' Falls, Paragon City
Machinery lined the walls, most of it with bits and pieces visibly missing thanks to the many looters that had come through since anyone important ever set foot in the building. The floor was painted with debris, clear evidence of how deserted the place was. At one point, people were coming and going, day in and day out. And not just people, but important people. Some truly great heroes, some of Paragon City's finest, had been regulars once at this now abandoned building.

Damian Snow stood in the entryway to the base of his old supergroup, The Headliners. Anyone who knew him in his prime would find him almost unrecognizable now. His clothes were ragged, and he carried a much more serious look on his face than one might've seen before, except now with a slight smirk, as he was amused at the sight of the place he once called home. "Man, things really have changed," he commented to himself as he tugged on the strap of the bag he was holding over his shoulder.

He turned to his left and walked, passing up memories of his old life. If things were different, he might have stopped to fondly reminisce his glory days. But they weren't different. They couldn't be. Damian accepted this. He understood that his decline after bring Snow Enterprises, the corrupt organization that both gave him everything he had, was his own fault. He didn't expect to be a hero forever.

What he didn't expect, however, was how cruel Paragon City can be. When the truth about Snow Enterprises came out, the people turned straight to Damian when looking for someone to blame. The heroic identity of 'Coldcrash' had been very tightly associated with the company for years. When people thought of Snow Enterprises, they thought of Coldcrash. When they needed someone to answer for the company's wrongdoings, Coldcrash was their guy.

It was a challenge, but Damian kept going. He didn't let people's disapproval get in the way of him doing good. He knew they'd see eventually that Damian really did change for the better. He could wait as long as he needed to. He knew it would be weeks, maybe even months before people saw that he was actually trying

But when those weeks turned into months, the people of Paragon proved to be rather relentless in their desire to purely and entirely loathe Damian. Even other heroes hated him for supporting Snow Enterprises for so long. As far as they were concerned, he had sealed his fate as corrupt within other hero circles. In fact, he was pretty sure that Longbow actually started listing him as a villain, because he had recently been getting confronted by new, fledgling heroes wanting to take him out and rise to superhero stardom. It was clear at that point that Coldcrash was simply no longer a hero that Paragon City wanted to protect them.

And then he disappeared. No one was really sure why, but for months it was as if Damian Snow didn't exist at all. Coldcrash stopped trying to save the day. He didn't even leave a paper trail. Most people thought he gave up like the true sellout they thought he was. He fell off the radar completely.

Well, until now.

Damian stood in the center of combat training room they had built just before the group fell apart. He reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a round, metal object about the size of a basketball. After examining it for a moment, he set it on the ground and begun to take off the ragged clothing that he had used to sneak in with as another looter.

"Well, it was a really fun run," Damian projected to no one while removing his jacket, "but I'm afraid that this has been a long time coming. Don't take it personally."

Now Damian's costume he was wearing underneath the clothes was exposed. Large shards of ice snaked around his body while smaller ones jutted out of his arms and legs, and he glowed faintly in the musky light of the unkempt base. Bending down to the round object he set on the floor, Damian pressed a few buttons, and the object began to beep.

"Dark Matter Detonation activated: 30 seconds remaining."

At this point, Damian looked up at the ceiling, raised his arm up, and shot a beam of ice straight up into the air. The ceiling above him was frozen completely solid.

"Actually," Damian said, "do take it personally."

And without looking back once, he rose off the ground and flew through the roof of the building, shattering through the ceiling he had frozen just a moment before.

PART II: A BRIEF REUNION
Two Months Prior
Sharkhead Isle, The Rogue Isles
"It's got to be here somewhere..." Damian said into the wind as he hovered several yards above a cargo ship docked in Sharkhead.

It was very late - Damian doubted anyone nearby was even awake - and the whole place had a decent layer of fog that made it hard to make out details at a distance. This was a problem, considering the ship he was checking was littered with giant crates and containers, stacked high with little room to maneuver on-board. Damian stayed in the air, surveying below, hoping to find some clue towards the shipment he was looking for.

Then, deep in the fog, two shadows emerged on the ship. Seeing this, Damian immediately lowered himself behind some of the higher crates in order to remain hidden until he could figure out who exactly was looking through this ship's cargo. There was a good chance they were looking for the same thing Damian was looking for, and he wasn't about to let them get it. He could only barely make them out, but he could hear them speak.

"Alright, I'll check this crate over here. You check over there," said one of them, a man whose voice Damian thought sounded very familiar, while pointing towards a crate just out of Damian's vision. As the second person walked off, Damian kept an eye on the first.

"If Snow Enterprises really does have shipments still going through, it would be on this ship. We're not leaving 'til we go through every single one, you hear?" called the first man to the second.

When Damian heard this, his stomach lurched. They're here for Snow Enterprises' shipment, he thought, and if that's true, then that means that man is--

"Well if it isn't Damian Snow," said Tucker Clay slyly, interrupting Damian's thought. While Damian was analyzing what was going on, Clay had snuck up on him. Damian stood up and saw Clay's associate climbing up to join the two at the top of the cargo stack.

"I should've known you'd try to steal the last of the Snow Enterprises fortune," remarked Damian.

"Yeah, well, you're a little late if you think this is the first time. I don't think you realize the types of things your daddy had in his possession."

Damian looked annoyed. "So you're still hoping they'll give your arms back, then?"

This seemed to have struck a nerve with Clay. Almost instinctively, he stepped back and a steady whirring noise confirmed that he was powering up his laser cannons.

"I used to think you could actually have been a decent hero, you know." Damian added. He then looked at his arms, which were crackling with energy. "You never could be trusted, though."

Tucker Clay laughed.

"Do you really think I ever cared what you think? I'm the ******* Powerlaser!" he said, the energy emanating from his arms becoming much more unsettled. "I could take you out easily, Mr. Snow. I've had a few upgrades since I last had the displeasure of being in your presence."

"Really now?" Damian asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, Damian. Really. It turns out your father was very interested in the science behind something called dark matter. Snow Enterprises was supposed to have some remaining here on this ship... and I guess you're just really unlucky, because I got to it first. I'd explain what it can do to you, but I think a demonstration would be much more interesting, don't you?"

With that, Clay pointed an arm at Damian and fired a blast square in his chest. To Damian's surprise, it knocked him (and the crate he was standing in front of) down onto the deck of the ship.

"Impressive," Damian mocked as he picked himself up from the mess Clay just made. "but come on. You know I can handle stuff like this. You could do better."

"No, Damian, I don't think you understand what you're dealing with," Clay responded while jumping down to where he knocked Damian. He walked up to Damian casually, as if he had no fear at all. Damian, not sure what to make of Clay's confidence, used the opportunity to charge towards him and quickly freeze the floor under him before Clay could react. It ended up with Clay flat on his back after having slipped on the ice.

Damian got to Clay before he could get up and froze ice over his legs, binding him temporarily to the ground.

"You really think you could beat me?" Damian inquired, looking down at Clay who was still down on the ground unable to move.

"No," said Clay, "I know I could."

At that, Clay raised both of his arms straight at Damian and fired off several shots, sending him flying through the air until he collided with another crate. While collapsed in a heap of crate debris and cargo, Damian heard Clay break out of the ice that was holding him down. He knew he had to get up to fight back, but for some reason Clay's lasers were hurting him much more than he anticipated. It was almost like it was completely ignoring the fact that under normal circumstances, a laser would just bounce off of his bare skin.

"My cannons are full of dark matter energy, Damian," Clay called out as he made his way to where Damian was collapsed. "This stuff eats right through your power. You don't stand a chance."

Clay eventually reached Damian, who still was paralyzed by the force of the dark matter blasts. This time it was Clay who had control of the situation.

Reaching down, Clay placed both of his hands directly on Damian's chest. Then, with a slight smirk, he fired off one giant blast of his lasers. Before slowly drifting out of consciousness, Damian could hear Clay calling out to his ally.

"Lead Head, strap this to him and throw him overboard. We don't want him to bother us anymore." Clay commanded.

"You got it," said Lead Head. Damian couldn't see anymore now, but he could hear Lead Head's footsteps coming closer before he felt him attach something small around his abdomen. "If those lasers didn't kill you," said Lead Head idly to what he thought was a fully unconscious Damian, "then this bomb definitely will."

Lead Head dragged Damian to the railing and hoisted his body over the edge. As he fell down the side of the ship to almost certain doom, Damian felt satisfied knowing that he was going to die in an attempt to do some good for the world.

It wouldn be almost two months before anyone would hear from Damian again.

PART III: A NEW PATH
Present Day
Somewhere in the Rogue Isles
"NO!" screamed Damian as he slammed his fists down on the table he was sitting at, leaving two distinct fist-prints of frost glistening on the surface. In front of him was a computer monitor flashing the words 'DATA CORRUPT'. He had worked forever to find these files.

A few days prior, Damian paid a visit to an old friend from Snow Enterprises. See, Damian knew that although the empire was officially defunct, many of its old prominent figures were still pulling strings from the shadows. With news of Damian's return starting to get out, many of these people decided to go into hiding. These were the smart ones.

Arnold McMahan was not one of these people.

In his Snow Enterprises days, McMahan was always rather boisterous about his less-than-honorable feats. He enjoyed causing controversy by using his economic power to steal from the public and fatten his own pockets. He enjoyed scandal, and frequently set out to cause it. Damian, because of how involved he was in Snow Enterprises' prime, knows how much bite McMahan really has. That's why it only took three minutes for Damian to get everything he needed from him.

What he needed was information. Ever since the incident on the cargo ship, Damian has been fascinated with the power of Dark Matter. He knew that Snow Enterprises had some investment in Dark Matter weaponry, which meant that he was really close to acquiring all of those remaining supplies that Snow Enterprises had. All he had to do was find out where it was hidden with the information he had lifted from McMahan. Obviously, that was an issue.

Damian didn't know what he was going to do. As he sat in frustration, he mumbled to himself.

"...all because of a damn computer..."

He looked at the screen again. 'DATA CORRUPT'.

"...stupid thing won't ******* work..."

His eyes stayed fixed on the screens. The bold, red 'DATA CORRUPT' continued to mock him.

In one quick motion, Damian stood up and threw the computer against the wall. As he looked down at the destroyed remains, he only felt slightly satisfied. He wasn't any closer to finding a larger supply of Dark Matter than he was before he bothered killing McMahan. This bothered him.

A bit of excitement rushed through him as he looked to his left and saw the small pile of old weapons he had taken back from Snow Enterprises. After quickly walking over to it, he picked up a small metal cylinder resting on top.

Damian held up the object to eye level. With is other hand, he lightly moved his hand over the small panel on the side facing him before pressing one of the buttons. The top of the cylinder opened up, and Damian instinctively tilted it, causing a tiny speck of the Dark Matter inside to fall loose.

His eyes closed as he reached his hand out to catch the falling Dark Matter. The second he felt it touch his skin, his entire body warmed up. His insides ached, almost like they were trying to burst out of his body, and his mind felt like it was being twisted and warped like clay. After just that second, he opened his eyes and observed his hand.

The spot where the dark matter made contact left a dark spots on his skin. His normally literally glowing complexion seemed to have burned out at the very spot the dark matter touched. But then, when it looked like the damage might be permanent, it faded away.

Damian couldn't help but grin as he closed his eyes once more to soak in the moment. He loved the way Dark Matter showed him the true meaning of mortality. He had spent his whole life under the impression that he was going to outlast everything close to him, after all. Ever since being strapped to the Dark Matter bomb on the cargo ship, Damian hasn't been able to stop thinking about how powerless he was against it. This never happened before. Did he really have such a huge weakness? The danger of it excited Damian. It gave him risk, which made everything way more interesting.

What he loved most about the Dark Matter, however, was the it gave him power over nearly anyone he came across. And with all of Snow Enterprises' Dark Matter under Damian's control, he'd be unstoppable. Unfortunately, his biggest lead turned out to be a bust. He should've expected McMahan to destroy the files but he was too anxious to get his hands on them. He made a rookie mistake.

He wasn't going to let it happen again, he decided. The only problem now was finding somewhere to get more Dark Matter.

He spent lots of time just sitting around trying to figure out how he was going to locate the things he needed. His eyes frequently darted around the room looking for inspiration. For hours he poured through old paper documents, hoping to come across a name that could give him somewhere to start. After how brutally he disposed of McMahan, he supposed most connections would disappear for a few years at least. He needed someone outside of Snow Enterprises with access to everything Snow Enterprises might have owned.

It seemed like he had gone through pages and pages of client documents with no progress. Just before giving up, he noticed a smaller, more tattered book. All he had to do was open the first page to know this was the book he was looking for. It looked as if his father was keeping tabs on the biggest threats to Snow Enterprises before it collapsed. A quick flip through the pages showed that nobody ever suspected of Damian being the one that did them all in.

"Never saw it coming." Damian commented to himself. "Now let's see what we have here."

Damian opened the book and examined the first page. This was exactly what he was looking for. As he sat and read his father's notes on the first-page threat, he could feel Snow Enterprise's Dark Matter coming closer within his reach. All he had to do was find that man on the first page.

"King Brain, huh? I guess I'll have to pay him a visit."