THE NEW GUARDIENS

"Greetings, my seed." The Baron said to him as he also awoke from his slumber.

Jake woke up with no dust in his eyes.

He wasn't in the real world.

He was in the same bland living room he had always popped into from time to time.

"Hey, Barry. Why am I here? I wanted to wake up to Ivy's face being the first thing I saw. Not your ugly mug. No offense." He said with a chuckle.

"I apologize if my ugly mug disturbs you, my seed, but I need to talk about this decision you've made."

"Haven't we already had this conversation?"

"Multiple times, in fact, my seed. But that doesn't diminish the urgency of this one."

"Okay then. Let's hurry this up. I want to wake up before Ivy does so I can make her breakfast."

"I'm afraid you won't have time for your romantic endeavors if you keep being so reckless."

"Reckless?"

"You participating in that mindless duel. It was unbecoming of you."

"Hey. Zack wanted a fight, and that's what he got. Although it was a bit short. Didn't know my new fist packed such a punch. Literally." He said with a smirk.

"This isn't a joking matter, my seed. Remember how I saved you. Your body was utterly obliterated by that machine exploding. Your muman power was useless then. The only way to save your life was to access your innate Shadow connection."

"And so you opened the door to the Shadow and let him out so his power could regenerate me. Yeah, I've heard it all. Hey... where is that guy anyway?"

"Not here, but not for long. That's why I called you here. So we can talk more privately."

"And what do you need to talk about?"

"As you may or may not know, I gave you my Shadow abilities for a limited time, which then unlocked your innate muman abilities. However, unlike those of this world that unlock them through M-Cells or Mutoxin, yours are special, harnessing a strange blue energy even I don't understand."

"Yes, I know this. Your point?"

"Me unlocking the Shadow allowed you access to both these abilities along with your Shadow abilities I gave you not so long ago. The only downside is..."

"Yes. I look like a freak 24/7. My mirror always does a good job of reminding me. It's hard to remember that I'm a freak when Ivy can't see the difference."

"You're not a freak, my seed. You're..."

"Oh, cut the crap, Baron. Just cut to the chase." He interrupted, catching the Baron off guard with the use of his real name.

"I'm saying you need to refrain from using your Shadow powers."

"I haven't this whole time. Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because..."

"Because he's scared I might try to take over your body again." A deep, almost monstrous voice chimed in.

It was the Shadow, a being born from the unholy fusion of Jake and Umbra, the Queen of darkness.

"Oh? And where have you been?" He asked the Shadow with a smirk.

"Making my own room. This one is a little bland for my taste."

"Hmm, I wonder what you cooked up."

"Trust me. You wouldn't be into it."

As the two chatted on, the Baron looked at them with his mouth agape. It was like seeing one talk to a mirror. They were practically the same.

When Baron freed the Shadow, it was much more docile and open for communication. By then, Jake was dying. Most of his body burned away by the reactor. The Shadow intervened and fused with Jake without the Baron even telling him to. Baron hasn't figured out why since.

"What's with the look, Barry?"

The Baron snapped back to reality.

"Oh, um... nothing..." He said and walked into a room away from the both of them.

"What was that about?"

"No idea. What was he telling you?"

"Eh. The same old, same old. I'm even looking to get out of here."

"Off to see Ivy, eh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you think it does."

"You're a weird dude, dude."

"Well, guess who I'm based on."

The two looked at each other and smirked. He was human. Shadow was not. Shadow was something else. While he was as normal as any other human, save for his abilities, Shadow was an abomination by looks alone: 7 feet tall, pitch-black skin from head to toe, long demonic horns, and a wide, gaping mouth.

He had a sinister aura around him, but Jake couldn't help but relate to him.

He felt this would bite him in the ass one day.

Not today, though...

"Well, I'll be going then."

"Okay, take care." Shadow replied with a smile, exposing its unsettling black teeth. Jake stared at them for a bit and jumped away, flying into the ocean above and escaping the chamber of the Baron.

He still didn't get Baron's fear of the Shadow. Sure, he looks scary, but he's no different than Jake himself, both in outside looks and personality.

Or maybe there was something deeper...

Jake woke up on his bed a minute later. He saw Ivy's flattened pillow and the lump of her side of the bed, then immediately smelled something burning.

Jake cursed.

He got off the bed and ran towards the kitchen, passing by his mirror to give himself a quick glance.

He was in his red underwear. This was the first thing he noticed.

Then his pitch-black skin...

And blue glowing horns...

And blue markings all over his body, like a twisted full-body tattoo...

His long canines...

And black eyes with small blue dots making themselves known.

He looked no different than the Shadow, save for the blue markings and smaller size of his body and teeth.

He couldn't bear to look at himself any longer and focused on the task at hand.

And what a task it was.

Once he reached the kitchen, he was greeted by the familiar black cloud of smoke. He swept it all aside and ran toward his girlfriend, Ivy, who was trying to fry something on the stove.

It was already burnt.

He quickly pushed her to the side and switched it off immediately after.

"H-hey? What gives?!" Ivy said with a hiss.

"Ivy? Again? Come on, I told you I don't need breakfast in bed. Several times, in fact."

"That ain't gonna stop me from serving it to you." She said with a smirk and gave him a small tap on the head.

Jake's face turned bright blue.

"So, uh... what were you making?"

"Oh, bacon and eggs. I might have overcooked it a little." She said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

"A little?" Jake bellowed.

"Well..."

Jake then took a piece of bacon and ate it. It was one of the worst things he had ever put in his mouth.

"So, uh... what do you think?"

"It's... uh... good. Just like momma used to make?" He answered with awkward laughter.

"Oh, you don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not! This is good! A little overcooked, but..."

"Come on. It sucks, and you know it. Tastes like shit, right?"

"You come on! How can something you make taste like shit? Hell, I'd say this is one of the best things you've ever..."

She pulled him in for a kiss. It was deep, passionate, much more than their first but not even close to the ones they'd had before. She had her hands across his chest and torso.

He was doing the same, focusing on her lower back and abdomen. Her skin was soft yet scaly, like stroking one of her snakes.

Oddly enough, it aroused him even more than it should.

He reached up to his face and caressed his lower jaw, making his way to his forehead.

She then started stroking his horns.

Jake moaned.

Then he realized where this was going...

"Woah, woah... now..." He said, pulling her away.

"What's wrong?"

"I... we were going a little too far there."

"What?! Seriously? I was just feeling up your cute little horns. You seemed to enjoy it."

"Yeah, but we both know I don't deserve to enjoy that. I'm a freak. Look at me. I'm surprised you still want to be with me."

"I am looking at you. I look at you every day. You're the first thing I see when I wake up. You're the most beautiful thing I see when I wake up. That's why I want to touch you. Feel you. Inside and out. But you won't let that happen because you think I'm disgusted by you."

"Maybe you aren't, but I am. I want to... give in to my urges, but I can't. I can't because I'm disgusting to look at, and I know it. Please understand."

"Oh, Jake. Of course, I understand. I won't force you into anything. We can take our time. We're both in this together. When Milten saved us, he gave us a fresh start. Jake and Ivy died back in that horrible place."

"Ivy... you're not dead. You..."

"No. I'm Viper now. And your Blue Shadow. We're heroes. We're new. A fresh start. All my life I've been pretending to be something else and hating who I am. Now I'm not me. I'm someone else. Someone better. A hero people can look up to."

"You're the same to me."

Viper smiled. He leaned over and gave a kiss on one of his horns.

"You're sweet."

The two held each other close.

Jake's urge to take her to the bedroom, ravage her... it was slowly overpowering him. The more he looked into her eyes, the more his urges were pushing him.

It also didn't help that she was caressing his torso. Her hand slowly moving down, he could barely contain himself.

"Ivy..." He whispered.

"Shhh... it's Viper now. Let her take care of you..." She whispered back.

Jake closed his eyes and waited. Her hand was well past his torso, but he didn't resist. At this point, he couldn't.

"Well, what a show!"

Suddenly, Jake pushed Viper away at the sound of that voice.

He looked to the kitchen door and saw him standing by it, leaning on a nearby wall.

"Max..."

"Hey, Jake. How are you..."

In less than a second, Jake rushed him, pinning him to a wall by his neck.

"Jake?!" Ivy shouted.

"What do you want, asshole?" Jake screamed into his face. Max smirked lightly.

"Oh, I was just checking on my favorite couple. Things can get a little boring around here. Luthor's no fun, Milten isn't around, and that Surge robot of his is annoying as shit."

"Cut the crap, bastard. Why are you really here?"

"Are you really going to treat me this way? We're on the same team, remember? You wouldn't want the lady to see me whoop your ass. Trust me, pal, it's not a good look. I may be a little injured from the Dragon fight, but I can still defend myself."

"Jake, please let him go!" Viper shouted.

Jake looked at Max for a moment and reluctantly obliged, letting Max tumble to the floor.

"Good job listening to her. Shows you're a good boyfriend. Or you're into her bossing you around? A lot of boys at our old school seemed to be. I wonder what they'd think seeing you two together?"

"Are you just here to piss me off, Max?"

"Trust me. As tempting as that is, no. I'm just here for small talk. I'm almost fully recovered from that whole Dragon fiasco and was looking to have a little fun. I missed the meeting with President Bump, so I'm in a mood to stretch my legs."

"Well, I'm not. Get out."

"Come on! We live in the same building, man! Albeit in separate rooms, we're practically neighbors. Throw a neighbor a bone, will ya?"

"How about I throw my fist..."

"That's enough, Jake. L-let's get out of here. Just you and me. Out in the town."

"You mean like... a patrol?"

"Y-yeah! Patrol. You're clearly not comfortable here, so let's head out on our own super patrol. We're practically registered supers now, so let's stretch our legs a bit."

"Not a bad idea, eh, Jake?"

"No. You stay here." Jake glared at Max and pushed him towards the wall.

"Jake!" Ivy said and pushed him slightly.

"It's okay, Ivy. I deserve it. He and I don't have the... best history, so to speak."

"Understatement of the century right there," Jake mumbled.

"Look, Jake, you may hate me for what I've done, and that's fair, but we're on the same team, so you can't just be hostile to me 24/7."

"Watch me. Ivy. Let's go." Jake said as he held Ivy by the hand and walked out of the room.

Max watched in silence as they left.

Once they were gone, however...

"So, how'd it go?" A voice spoke to Max through his hidden earpiece.

"As well as you'd expect."

"He's still pissed about the Shadow thing?"

"Maybe him not participating in the Dragon Li bust just because I was in the team or him slamming me to a wall weren't good indicators."

"Relax, he'll get over it. Just give him time. Now, come on. I'm almost there. Tell Surge to get the surveillance protocols ready. Oh, and Luther to get popcorn. He can bring his kid too; I'm sure the boy is pretty stable by now."

"What for?"

"Let's just say we're in for a show."

To be continued....