21 DAYS BEFORE THE REMATCH IN HALLOWSVILLE

  The first punch the new Sunshine hit my torso with felt like a hundred explosions just went off inside of me, and it took all of my focus to not have it rip a hole open. I tried to stay grounded, but the force blasted me upwards, carving holes through the clouds. More strikes came in from every direction, hurling me into the many tall buildings Manhattan had in store.

  I almost hit the ground, but my momentum only stopped when Sunshine grabbed my face. It wasn’t to speak to me, or to stop our fight, or even to look at me. Her attention was on the pack of scientists driving toward us in white jeeps, carrying futuristic-looking guns.

  “Don’t you dare, S-”

  She left my words in the dust, going straight for one of the vehicles. I quickly followed. I was too late to save the first jeep as Sunshine smashed into the car’s engine with her feet. Luckily, I was able to catch the scientists that had been flung into the air.

  After telling them how far out of their league they were, the lab coats retreated. The others weren't so smart, blasting me with lasers that I couldn't dodge. Seeing this, Sunshine sped past me and ripped their car into two, flinging them upward. I tried saving them too. My daughter didn’t let me, coming behind me and holding tight. Then, she snapped backward, causing my skull to slam into the concrete.

  It was like the girl wanted me to watch them fall, to watch their bodies break. Thankfully, that never happened. Their white coats inflated like balloons, granting them a soft cushion.

  Gritting my teeth, I struck the ground with the back of my hands, launching us into the sky. The moment her grip disappeared, I spun around and — with sorrow rushing through my body — punched my daughter in the face.

  It hurt. Not just ‘cause I was trying to hurt someone I loved. Hitting her face felt like hitting something harder than steel.

  My hand reeled back, a yelp leaving my mouth.

  In that instant, when gravity was beginning to take us back down, I heard Sunshine say something.

  “Weak.”

  Next thing I knew, I was blasted through another building by a kick to the gut. I waited for the debris to finish raining down on me before slowly regaining my bearings. Agony raged inside my body, and my left pec was throbbing more than ever.

  That was when I noticed it. The bandage that was covering my chest had been turned to shreds. The hole was now as big as a basketball.

  I didn’t have time to worry about it though. Sunshine had entered the room, walking over to me in the cold and stern manner only a ruthless killer could have.

  It reminded me of Daemon - No, Jason.

  Whatever this new power or form was, I couldn’t think of any counters for it. It was just pure power, and I didn’t have my Radius Ability to absorb it.

  “You could've killed those people, Sunshine!” I growled.

  “They were attacking us,” she replied calmly.

  “Man, I wonder why. Maybe it's ‘cause we're going crazy and wrecking their place! I'd attack us too if our fight was gonna kill a bunch of unpowered people.”

  “You see? That's your problem, Jerome. You're right to pity others like those scientists and Sunflower. But to value them over my life? Your life? It’s stupid. It’s illogical.”

  “You're acting illogical!” I roared, charging to her, raising my fist.

  She caught my punch with ease, and then twisted my arm. I couldn't stop my knees from hitting the floor.

  “What happened to the Jerome who didn't care about anyone else but us and our future? What happened to ‘screw the apocalypse’? You’re trying to be this zombie hero, but you’re not even doing it correctly.”

  “I grew the fuck up and changed my mind. Maybe it’s time you grew up too.”

  “If words can’t knock some sense into you, then maybe something else will.”

  The wall behind me exploded outward as Sunshine hurled me through it, concrete and glass shredding past in a blink. My body kept going through the air, faster than felt possible. I wondered if the momentum would finally die, or if she’d reappear above me and drive me straight back into the concrete.

  It never happened.

  The city kept falling away instead. My arc carried me higher, until the streets looked distant. Before I could even process it, my trajectory leveled out, my body drifting toward the peak of the Empire State Building like it had been aimed there from the start.

  There were giant radioactive birds resting at the top with a nest of eggs sitting on the tip of the spire. I spread my hands out and caught the spire, not worrying if I woke up the winged beasts.

  I expected doing that would stop my flight.

  It didn’t. Instead, half of the skyscraper came with me, the sounds of metal tearing and glass shattering filling the air. The birds shrieked, swiftly descending to rescue their falling eggs.

  It was a beautiful display of parenthood that made the despair plaguing my soul even stronger. I remembered when my own child was only a helpless leg, and now she was above me, and I realized that I wasn’t the only one holding a building like it was a household object.

  “Sunshiiiine!” I bellowed, swinging my new giant weapon at the girl.

  Sunshine threw her building at me, and everything around me exploded in debris and glass. But that didn’t stop us from finding each other, and the moment we did, our fists clashed — one by one. Until the shockwaves from our barrage erased the dust blocking my daughter and I’s vision. But our plummeting bodies didn’t stop the continuous assault. Neither did landing.

  Each punch thrown was there to stop her from going, to change her mind, to protect my beliefs, and to stop this zombified monster that was tainting her mind — the zombie that I created.

  But they weren’t enough.

  The shattered bones in my arms were proof of that. I slowly stepped back, legs wobbling, attempting to lift up my arms to block any impending punches.

  Although, Sunshine gave me a painful reminder of something she hadn't used since transforming. Just when I thought the first stab would be the last, her katana drove into my many more times til the torture was too much for me to handle.

  My back hit the ground, my daughter watching me coldly.

  “Had enough yet?” she asked, pulling me up by my neck.

  “I'll… stop you,” I groaned, blocking her eyes.

  “No, you won't.” Sunshine hammered me back down, and the world began to spin. “This is pointless. You're doing this for nothing. Deep down, you know I'm right, Jerome. What Jesus and I did in Hallowsville and what I'm doing right now is all for your safety. And you’re trying to ruin everything by going back to that place? For someone who isn’t me?”

  “Yes… but that doesn’t make you any less important.”

  She paused, and then her face scrunched up with rage. “I really, really did try to understand you, but it turns out my dad is just a stupid, stupid dummy. This is all ‘cause you don't love me anymore, right? That's why you told me to love myself instead, right!?”

  “That's not at all what I meant by that com-”

  She mounted me and shattered my sentence with a punch. “You wanna die for your stubbornness and be a hero? Fine!” Another punch. “You wanna abandon me? Fine!” And another. “You wanna replace me with someone else? Fine!”

  Even though she nearly mashed my face into a pulp, she couldn’t touch the part of me that still loved her. Even as she tore my limbs away one by one, the memories we shared clung tighter, not weaker. I lay in a pool of my own ooze — a limbless husk of what I used to be — and still, something in me refused to let go.

  Stolen story; please report.

  When Sunshine raised her fist again, it hesitated. Her face became conflicted. Finally, she released an exhausted sigh — aura dissipating — and sat down beside me.

  I thought my daughter could be raised a certain way. I thought it was easy for her to see how strong and how powerful she was in my mind. I thought what I told her in Boomsbarrow would be etched into her being.

  But I was wrong about everything. I was worried so much about one disease that it blinded me from the other disease infecting her all these years.

  The same one my mother had.

  Sunshine looked at me, as though I was a dying dog on its last legs. “Why… Why did you make me do this!?” She picked me up by the neck. “You’re fighting just so you can watch everyone around you die! Think, Jerome, think! Jason, Daemon, Jesus, the Corleone Family — they all have embarrassed and beaten us time and time again! We. Can’t. Win! So why… are you still fighting!?”

  If she was scared, then I’d have to ease those fears. “Because I want to, Sun. And for you.”

  Her eyebrows raised, like I had said something completely out of this world. “I don't understand. I don’t deserve any of that.”

  “There… is nothing wrong with being… Sunshine.” Her face softened. “You are the most interesting, most talented, and most extraordinary person in my life. And you are capable of so many amazing things, because you are special… You always were. You always will be. Sure, you make lots of mistakes, but you are still my daughter.”

  I wanted my words to wash over Sunshine like a calm wave, to make her feel like she was sleeping in a fresh garden. And judging by the tears flowing down her face, I might have achieved that. And yet, even if I didn’t, there’d be nothing to complain about.

  I wanted to say them anyway.

  “You could say that anybody, Jerome.”

  “You’re right,” I said, smiling. “I can call myself special. I can call someone else extraordinary. But right now, those words are about you. And even if they weren’t, they would still… always be true.”

  Silence came between us for a while, her tears soothing the pain in my body. “You know, it felt like there was a hole in my chest this whole time. Like something was missing that shouldn’t have been.” Surprisingly, she stood up and aimed a finger gun at me. “But I think I’m alright now.”

  “Huh? That’s how you activate your power, right? I thought you couldn’t use it.”

  “I guess it works now,” Sunshine said, a ball of aura forming at her fingertip.

  “Mind Trick: Jerome Hunter!”

  *******

  Jerome Hunter was light.

  The kind that shined too brightly for the eyes to handle. The kind in the sky that — no matter how high you jumped — could never be reached. But Sunshine didn’t need to worry about reaching that light ‘cause her dad wanted her to reach him, and wanted to be with her. Despite the dark blob that she was, he never believed it would swallow him whole.

  The images of those goons Jason brutally tortured corrupted Sunshine’s mind, poisoning the confidence she was just starting to build from the group up. Truthfully, that was the real reason she didn’t wanna go to Hallowsville, and seeing how confident Jerome and everyone else was made her jealously run rampant.

  It was today — January 25th — where Sunshine realized she’d been thinking wrong. The fear was still there. Her brain wasn’t steely enough to forget that. However, she just needed to do what her dad’s been doing — strengthen her love for the family and friends around her so much to the point where the fear was nothing but a lone ember behind the monstrous flames ahead.

  As long as they were together, then Jason was just another ant in the colony they had to crush.

  But in order for that to happen, the Type Two needed to return. Previously, Sunshine had only tried tricking her own mind into thinking she was a different person, but what about tricking other people?

  Sure, Jerome was already Jerome, but the one she knew was the cool, energy-blasting Radion wasn’t the human form Jesus gave him.

  So, she gambled, and that gamble worked in her favor.

  Now that her dad was back, there was another problem she needed to fix, and she decided to fix it in front of everyone in the cafeteria. When Sunshine had calmed down enough to return back to the research facility, she immediately apologized to anyone she saw. Most were still angry and feared the power hidden inside of her, and that was perfectly ok.

  Apologies were better than saying nothing. Besides, the two people she expected to be the most angry — Sunflower and Moonlight — were actually less mad and more worried.

  Sunshine stood alone on top of one of the round tables, crossing her arms, toughening herself up. Jerome was leaning on the wall with his arm around Sunflower. Seeing that didn't make her heart throb like it would've before. Moonlight was next to those two, talking with the Radion, probably asking what happened.

  The one person that should’ve been there was somewhere else — Angela. Of course she wasn’t. And yet, this didn’t deter Sunshine. She would just have to explain everything to the doctor another time.

  “Hey, Sunshine, can you explain why we’re here now?” one of the scientists asked, tapping his foot on the floor.

  “Yeah, we have a lot of stuff to repair after what you and the Radion did. Eight hours, at least!”

  “Hey, we apologized for that!” Jerome shouted.

  “Do you know how hard it is to dematerialize mutated crystals into lasers, and then surround it with metal? One wrong equation, and our heads turn into ash!”

  “Can someone please explain how Jerome changed his fo-”

  “Would you guys please let me talk!?” Sunshine demanded, silence following after. “I’m sure a lot of you guys have been wondering about the events that lead my dad and I to this place. Well, to keep it simple without any sugarcoating, me and a man named Jesus Hernandez conspired to-” She glanced at Jerome for a second. “-kill my father. And we succeeded.”

  Everyone stayed quiet, surprising Sunshine. She at least expected gasps.

  “I won’t try to justify what I did ‘cause my reasons were selfish and based on fear. I won’t expect forgiveness for my actions either. I did what I did, and the only thing I wanna do now is be better than who I was before. And if anyone here doesn’t think that’s possible, then screw your opinion and throw it in the trash ‘cause I’m gonna do it anyway.”

  Once again, no one responded. In fact, a lot of people’s faces were either blank or straight up bored.

  “Is this really what you made us use five minutes of our thirty minute break for?” a scientist asked.

  “Congratulations, I guess…?”

  “I find her blunt honesty respectable.”

  Most of the room began awkwardly clapping. Sunshine’s face turned red as a strange sensation rushed through her body. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted more of it. None of the scientists were able to leave until the words “I’m sorry, and if you don’t forgive me, that’s perfectly fine” were said to each one of them.

  Once that was settled, the girl jumped over to her dad, holding her breath.

  “You look like a pufferfish,” Sunflower said, poking Sunshine’s puffed up cheeks. “Why’re you holding your breath?”

  “She does that when she wants to hide her smile.” Jerome gently pressed against her cheeks with his fingers, forcing her to exhale. “If you wanna smile, just do it, Sun.”

  “But this is too good to be true. If I get too happy now, the world will come crashing down in no time!”

  Her dad rested his hand on her head. “There’s nothing wrong with being proud of a big achievement. I know it took a lot for you to do all that. It’s a big step up from before.”

  She smiled back. “Thanks… Dad.” She could see Sunflower’s taunting smirk through her peripheral vision, and focused in on her. “I’m sorry to you too. I’ve been so mean to you all this time, but it was just me overrea-”

  Her sister put an end to the apology with a soft tap to her forehead. “Are you seriously still stuck on that? I thought we already had a mutual understanding with each other. You talk shit to me, I talk shit back, and we respect each other behind closed doors.”

  Respect? Hmm. I guess I do kinda respect her. Especially if I thought she was good enough to steal my dad away. But what part of me did she respect?

  The thought lingered as Sunshine looked at Moonlight next, her chest still light, her body buzzing with leftover excitement. Her friend’s angry expression and crossed arms put a temporary stop on her joy. The throbbing in the girl’s chest returned for a bit, though the warmth her family provided earlier soothed it.

  “You good, Moonlight?” Dad asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

  Sunflower’s brows furrowed. “Wait, is her name literally Moonlight? Not a nickname?”

  He shifted his head back to the teen. “What kinda nickname is Moonlight? And your name is Sunflower, so what’s the problem?”

  “How…” The soft voice made everyone turn back to the zombified girl. “How could you do that to your father? Mr. Hunter is supposed to be your family, right? I mean, I'd never do that to Flash.”

  So she's mad at me for this, but wasn't made when I nearly beat that rabbit to death?

  “It was a selfish decision made by a bad girl who wasn't thinking straight,” Sunshine admitted confidently. “That's all. If you don't wanna be my friend after knowing that, then it's fine. But I won't stop thinking of you as one.”

  Moonlight’s arms dropped. “But-”

  Dad patted the girl on the back and gently led her away from the two. “Hey, why don’t we get you some new clothes? Your dress has holes and dirt all over it.”

  “But that’s what makes the dress nice, so why would I need new clothes?” Moonlight asked.

  Sunshine wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not. “Hey, what’s Dad doing? I wanted to talk to her more.”

  “Diffusing the situation,” Sunflower answered. “You’re not really good at reading people, Sun.”

  Sunshine raised a brow. “Don’t call me Sun. Only Dad can call me Sun.”

  “Your name’s too long. What do you want me to call you instead?”

  “It’s only two syllables.” She scratched her chin. “Then call me Sister. If you’re gonna be a member of my family, then I’d better get used to it.”

  Her sister scoffed, shaking Sunshine’s hair around. “Not ‘if’. I already am a part of this family. This is the best environment I’ve been in years, so I’m not giving that up for anything. Not even if you start whining about it again.” She grinned. “In fact, maybe I should do something to get Jerome to like me more than you.”

  “You can do whatever you want ‘cause I’m always gonna be important to him regardless!” the girl replied, smiling.

  The teen groaned, the power of positivity shattering her smug look.

  Just then, a loud bang from above them made Sunshine’s ears twitch. Heat grazed her left cheek, and her arm instinctively shot upwards, catching what felt like a bullet. Looking inside her hand proved that prediction to be true.

  Sunshine glanced at Sunflower, who was crouching down, covering her ears, body trembling. Then, her eyes darted to the small hole in the white ceiling, and an outline of a figure materialized in her Energy Sense. Rage sparked within her.

  She hopped, thrusting her clawed hand through the ceiling. Her fingers caught on stiff fabric — the same a lab coat would have. Sunshine pulled down, ripping a man out as debris washed over them.

  It was Dr. Banana, holding a handgun. “Jesus Christ, my ceiling! You haven’t broken enough in my place of work!?”

  “You scared my sister,” Sunshine said in a serious tone while the doctor wiped the dust off his banana head. “She’s scared of loud sounds.”

  “Sudden loud sounds,” Sunflower corrected, clearly trying to keep herself composed. “Especially gunshots. And speaking of gunshots-” She kicked Banana Man in the face, knocking him down. “Who the fuck do you think you’re shooting at!?”

  “Ah! That was right in my face!” Dr. Banana sat up, shaking his head. “Can’t an inventor test out a new invention without getting kicked?”

  “What new invention?” Sunshine asked.

  “The gun, obviously,” he said, as though they were supposed to be impressed. “It’s a gun that can shoot children!”

  The girl raised an eyebrow “So, a regular gun?”

  “No, a regular gun can shoot anybody. But this gun?” The doctor held it up. “The bullets just bounce off the skin of anything with the bone and muscle structure of someone twelve and under. Here, let me show you by potentially endangering your life!”

  Dr. Banana aimed the gun at Sunshine and pulled the trigger. Just as he said, the bullet felt more like a pebble. It didn’t even leave a mark.

  “That was… awesome!” Sunshine exclaimed, eyes sparkling.

  “That was stupid!” Sister shouted, covering her ears again.

  Seeing Sunflower’s dismay, she grabbed the doctor’s gun and crushed it between her hands.

  Dr. Banana screamed, falling to his knees. “M-M-My invention! Do you have any idea how hard it was to make that!?” He sighed. “Oh well. That invention was a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

  “Are you here for another test on my body?” Sunshine asked, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Made this really big discovery with that part-zombie thing you were telling me. Happened this morning. Got a huge power boost, and my aura was blood-red.”

  “I guess temper tantrums make you stronger,” Sunflower added.

  Temper tantrums are associated with anger, and strong emotions like anger strengthen aura temporarily. Maybe that’s it? I guess Sister knows more than she lets on.

  “Ah, yes, I heard about that,” Dr. Banana said, regaining his footing. “But that’s not what I wanted to study. Your Radius Abilities have returned, haven't they? You and Jerome’s.”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  The doctor began walking away, and then turned back slightly like he was about to say something cool. “You’ll need someone knowledgeable enough to train you in your respective abilities, and who better than someone who likes to invent.”

  In other words, Dad and I were irrelevant to him until we got our powers back.

  There were still a lot of things Sunshine didn’t know about her ability and Radius Abilities too. Jesus probably didn’t wanna teach her all that, fearing her power might topple the control he had over her. If this was a chance for higher learning, then she’d take it with a smile.

  But not without someone else first.

  “Why’re you standing still like a doll?” Sunshine asked Sunflower. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

  Her sister’s brows raised. Then she laughed awkwardly. “Well, I don’t have my powers back yet, so I’d just be extra bag-”

  She grabbed the teen’s arm. “I want you to come with us. How else are you gonna get stronger?”

  “Yeah…”