It was one of the rarest occurrences in human history, the Cosmic Light. Even someone like Terry, who had been in the field long enough, didn't know much about it.
But the Captains, the Furious Three, and the council members knew it well. The light, a ray of pure energy, could erupt from a cosmic entity when it held far too much power inside.
Stella stood at the screen explaining it to the Captains.
"The color matters," she said. "This one was blue. That means it's most likely friendly. If it had been red, or worse, orange, then we'd be dealing with something aggressive, a beast."
She went on, "For an Izigan to release a Cosmic Light is possible, but… it's almost always fatal. Their body can't handle that much energy being forced out into the open air."
The room was quiet. What they would find was still unknown, but with the readings showing over five hundred thousand Meganuwits, most of them expected another dying beast.
The last time a Cosmic Light had been seen was during the war. Back then, it came from monsters, though on rare occasions an Izigan had shone with it before burning out.
Now it was evening in Washington D.C. when the black ships arrived in the area. Smoke still rose into the air, remnants of a fight. The great blue light was still blazing into the sky, guiding them directly toward it but just as they neared, the light vanished.
"No need to panic. Location has already been locked in. We'll arrive shortly,"
One of the pilots said, his voice carrying through the comms into every ship.
About twenty of them descended through the air, engines shaking the smoke below. When they landed, the Omega squad came out first, armored men spreading in lines as they began scanning the area. Terry stepped down last, his eyes sweeping the wreckage.
"Holy mother of pepperoni,"
Terry muttered, holding his right hand to his forehead to shield his view. Houses were torn apart, the destruction unnervingly clean, like invisible blades had carved through the streets. Rubble and splintered wood were everywhere.
He clapped his hands, pulling himself together.
"Alright, people get to work. Testing, casualties, sweep toward the light's last source. Move."
A voice crackled into his earpiece.
"Emm, sir…"
Terry froze. The tone was too familiar. The last time he'd heard that exact tone from this soldier, it had led to the kind of sight that haunted his sleep.
"Sir, you may want to see this."
Terry groaned. "Hey, son, the last time you said that, I was traumatized. You're really about to do that to me again? No pity for my mental health?"
"That is not my intention, sir."
"Then spit it out!" Terry snapped.
"You told me before not to ruin the surprise…"
the man answered calmly.
Terry slammed his palm to his forehead and pulled up his wrist-radar, locating the signal.
"Fine. I'm coming."
Minutes later, he arrived and froze. Dozens of the Omega men had surrounded something. Not a beast, not rubble but a boy. Dave.
He was kneeling in the center of the scorched black ground, head bowed, his clothes in tatters. His body shook faintly, though his eyes stayed shut.
The men stood tense, clutching their weapons. They had brought a sealer and a reinforced cage, prepared for a monster but what they saw was a child.
"A child?"
the thought ran through every soldier's head. But it didn't fit. Five hundred thousand Meganuwits couldn't come from a boy.
"Don't tell me this is what I think it is,"
Terry said, pacing in circles, confusion on his face.
"It's clear, sir," one of them said flatly. "We're looking at it."
Another soldier spoke up, a woman holding a scanning device. It projected inner views of the boy's body, muscles and energy veins lit up in layered vision.
"Sir… his muscles are strained but intact. Signs of massive overuse, contraction in multiple areas. But no fatal collapse. From the scan here, his body's still stable. We found no other entity here. It was just him."
The men exchanged glances.
"If he wakes up," one muttered, "what do we do? What if he's a monster disguised as a boy? Nothing like that has ever happened, but… what if?"
Another shook his head. "Or maybe he's just a kid. No cage can answer that."
Terry crouched down in front of Dave, lifting his face gently. The boy's features were soft, young, not twisted with beastly marks. His eyes stayed shut. Terry sighed.
"Who the hell are you, kid? Well… guess we'll find out soon enough."
He stood and turned to his men.
"Alright. Buckle him up with the restraints. No cage."
A soldier frowned. "Are you sure about that, sir? No cages?"
Terry let out a long breath. "Who the hell wants to put a teenage boy in a cage? Here goes nothing."
The squad looked at one another, hesitated, then agreed. One pulled out reinforced cuffs and bound Dave's hands together. Four of them lifted him carefully from the burned ground and carried him toward the nearest ship.
Terry rubbed his temples. His thoughts were cut short by a sharp beep from his watch. Another alert. Another cosmic anomaly.
This time, in Japan.
"What now?" he muttered. "Another one? Well… at least it isn't another light."
He sighed, watching the ship rise with the boy inside.
"I'll be there shortly."