ARC 01.
Embedded Files
pre-18. BEFORE THE POWERS. closed arc.
georgia born and raised. when ashton was ten years old, still going by ashley at that time, his family up and moved to new york city for his dad to take up a new promotion. well, it gave him just enough time away from home to start having an affair with his secretary. when their mother finally found out, ashton was twelve at the time, while his older brother danny was sixteen. incomes an inevitable divorce. the kids stayed with their mother, visiting dad every other weekend. he didn’t seem to be too interested in their lives, as he was building a new one of his own. around the same time, ashton started feeling uncomfortable in his own skin. when he came out as a trans man to his mother, she was supportive. his brother was uncertain, and their father… well, he was convinced that his ex-wife’s parenting was to blame. that there was an issue with his own kids. although ashton stayed close with his mother, someone who always supported him, his brother found solace in the father that they once had. and with that, ashton lost both a brother and father.
he really did try to be a good kid. however, far too many days did he return home with scrapes from getting into trouble. rowdy, staying out late, stepping into one too many fights. in his defense, he usually wasn't the instigator. nothing changed as he grew older - other than ashton trying to hide those things from his mother instead. her son was impulsive and reckless, and there seemed to be no changing him. one of the few things that gave her faith was when ashton went off to college. she hoped that being away from home, meeting new people, and getting to forget about the rest of the family would help him. and sure, it did - it's where he was able to meet his best friend, carter vitale, an introverted young man who was an intelligent engineer with excellent computer skills. the two become roommates and create a little band together called the golden flight, and everything seems to be looking up, but not before that one night…
at the age of eighteen, a light blue ford fairlane speeds down the highway outside the city. nothing out of the ordinary, truly. he’s always been an irresponsible driver, rock music booming - but something strange happens. a whip of electric blue light erupts in the street, sending cars trying to grind to sudden stop. however, he’s simply driving too fast, and he has little choice but to swerve off the road, vehicle rushing down an escarpment until it’s stopped by a large tree. his beloved car is destroyed, yet miraculously he’s alive. he pries himself out from under the shattered windshield, unable to catch himself as he falls down to the leaves.
bloodied fingers outstretched, he almost begs for the door handle to be in his grasp, and then… it is. only, the handle rips from the rest of the door frame, flying through the air and right into his grasp. the force lands him on his back, definitely not helping his already-pounding headache. he curses to a god that he doesn’t even believe in, sure that he must be hallucinating or something from the accident. however, stuck with those powers five years later, it sure wasn’t a hallucination.
18. THE CARDS ARE DEALT. closed arc.
when politicians and news casters try to suppress the idea that the mysterious electric surge ever existed, ashton grows angry. people point fingers in every direction, from renowned genetic testing labs to an existing hero with nuclear abilities ( who, yes is the true cause ), although no answers are publicly released. it’s the time that he decides to take up the mantle as a hero clad in blue, striving to make a statement about those affected by the incident. the bold color choice is purposely meant to garner attention, as if to scream look at me! although he never picked a hero name for himself, the public quickly deemed him blue boy, and he never found a reason to complain.
the uprising of photographs, interviews, comics, and toys were the driving force for being a hero in his early days. yes, he was saving lives and stopping criminals, but it was on his own agenda, as though personally benefiting from his abilities initially fueled his fire. he simply adored the spotlight, especially feeling needed by others, and like a true addict, he simply couldn’t get enough.
being in that suit began to take up all of his free time, to the point he was skipping classes and band practices to be this vigilante. despite disapproving of ashton's choices, carter was determined to help keep him safe - so he's willing to act as the guy in the chair, hoping to help keep his best friend out of trouble.
partially to blame was the feeling within his veins when he used his abilities. if he went too long without using his powers, it almost felt like ants were crawling under his skin, yet the moment he used his molecular telekinesis… instant relief. certainly no help to his addiction.
and the more he uses his powers, the stronger they grow. he goes from being able to manipulate small objects to learning how to cause phase changes ( such as turning some asshole’s hot coffee right to ice ). solid objects are easiest to control at first, followed by liquids and gases - particularly helpful for putting out large fires. then… comes the ability to control bigger and bigger objects.
soda can. table. car. bus. airplane. cruise ship. bridge. it makes him feel invincible. hell, he’s even convinced himself that he could hold up the moon if he had to. yet even if he could, he seems to ignore one crucial detail.
no matter how powerful he feels, his body is still… human. the night he obtained these powers, he gained some enhanced durability and healing, but the bruises, cuts, bullet wounds… those seriously suck when you’re not made of steel or can't easily regenerate your own cells. over time, he learns how to manipulate his own molecules to restitch his wounds, but this does mean he needs to be conscious.
18 to 23. THE MASKED VIGILANTE, BLUE BOY. open arc.
although he starts the vigilante game with his heart in the wrong place, ashton soon gets there. in the beginning, he's so focused on the celebrity aspect of being a hero. he becomes no stranger to press conferences with public officials and other heroes, interviews as the city starts picking up the pieces after chaos, visits to schools and hospitals to provide some inspiration for the children - he even has his own social media page dedicated to his blue boy activities where he garners quite the fanbase.
however, he's faced with situations where he actually has to make critical choices that weigh his own life against that of others. the first few are easy, if only for the fact that he thinks he's invincible. deep down, he knows that he isn't, but that doesn't seem to change the way that he's willing to recklessly run into danger.
take a fire that quickly spreads through an apartment complex downtown. a blue-masked hero rushes inside, admittedly getting a bit winded as he takes the stairs up to the eighth floor. lifting a fist, quickly spreading his digits wide, he easily breaks open the window at the end of the hallway. hands swirl over one another, as though they hold a large invisible ball between them, as he forces a wave of oxygen out of the building to calm some of the flames.
he notes how smoke still pours from one of the apartments, and so he barges in, calling out for anyone that may be left behind. there's a weak voice - a young woman's voice - and he's waving through growing flames ( admittedly gaining some nervousness, but at least the suit is flame-resistant ) until he finds her in the bedroom, helping her coughing figure up from the ground to help get them both out of the building. she's leaning on him as he does his best to keep her awake, but when she's barely able to get down the stairs, he knows he has to carry her. even if he doesn't have super strength, he's getting her out of that place. how could he live with himself otherwise?
23 to 26. BLUE BOY AND ASHTON FOWLER ARE ONE. open arc.
at the age of twenty-three, ashton attends a carnival downtown with some college friends. he's set to graduate soon, planning to become a teacher. it’s one of the moments where he’s perfectly comfortable just being himself, trying to enjoy his life without the blue suit. there’s a screeching yet rumbling noise overhead that gains a few people’s attention in the crowd. and once they see it, they begin to scream. starts a chain of panic. an airplane has a busted engine and is hurtling down toward earth. of course in a city where skyscrapers are abundant. some people attempt to hide in nearby buildings, but the rational ones start to run away, knowing that the plane will collapse anything in its path. ashton doesn’t have his suit on him. this is a normal day, not some heroic outing. but fuck, he has to do something. he has the ability to do something - regardless of hero status, if he chooses not to act, what kind of person does that make him?
ashton runs - but rather than following the crowd, he’s sprinting in a leather jacket and combat boots right toward the danger. friends call his name, yet he doesn’t even hear them over the sound of his own blood pumping between his ears. as he stands in the street, palms outstretched to the sky, limbs shaking at the amount of energy it takes to gradually slow down the carrier in freefall… he’s made a grave decision that will change his life forever. in spite of the chaos, people record when they should be getting to safety.
the plastic casing casing of the airplane creaks as telekinetic energy prevents it from succumbing to gravity. he's guided the vessel to halt above the roof of a local diner ( much to the panicked dismay of the restaurant owner ), all from where he stands in the street down below. digits shake as his wrists slowly twist, as though there's an invisible string that tethers him to the plane. he holds it there for as long as he can, letting the passengers hop out one by one onto the concrete roof, where he knows there will be a fire escape to help them down to the ground. lips purse in deep concentration as blood begins to drip down from his nose to his top lip, simply from the extended intensity that he's using this energy - and once the plane is finally clear, he's able to rest it atop two adjacent buildings... only causing minimal damage, at least. as he finally relaxes, hands fall to his thighs as he hunches over, trying to catch his breath. that's when he hears the gasps, the cheering, the applause - and he's overwhelmed as people start to rush in his direction. forget balancing life between ashton fowler and blue boy. for now, they are and forever will be known as one.
it takes time to move away from using that characteristic blue suit with adornments of white and black. his favorite assortment. blue - both a calmness that he wishes to bring, as well as an unmistakable color that makes him stand right out. white - the good, the purity behind intentions. black - the bold, the bad, the mistakes, the growth. he still has a bit of an attachment to that suit, still wearing it from time to time despite there being any rational point left in fighting behind a mask. not everyone seems to recognize him, but enough people do. some ask for autographs while he's out getting his morning coffee while others try to follow him home, seeing if they can get him out of the vigilante game once and for all. although the fame associated with being a hero was so appealing at first, without a way to ever turn off that side of his life... well, it's really hard. he's even booted from the band after a while, as he puts them all at risk. at least he continues solo. but he's decided that if he's truly been graced with these abilities, then he's got to do something with them. not for himself but for the ones that saw him as a hero from the beginning, and especially the ones who thought his heart hadn't been in the right place - because now... it is.
26 to 30. THE LINE BETWEEN HERO AND ANTI-HERO IS BLURRED. open arc.
life was not simple when he was balancing a hero identity with his own, but when the two are merged, it strays into ultimate chaos. while he once enjoyed the spotlight, ashton now lives a life where he's having to constantly look over his shoulder, wondering who is planning on taking him out purely to get him out of the picture. after all, he's a high risk in more ways than one. countless nights he's evaded a kidnapping or gotten into a fist-fight coming home from the grocery store, simply trying to live his life to another day. at least he's able to handle his own, though he doesn't just have to worry about himself with this hero thing anymore - he's got to worry about everyone that even knows him. because if you can't physically kill off the hero, what do you try next? you hit them right where it hurts the most.
the entire time that he's had his powers, up until the big public reveal, ashton had kept his powers a secret from his mother. she's the only family he has left after his father and brother essentially abandoned them. he simply didn't want her to worry about him, though she always had, for her son had been notorious for getting into trouble. perhaps she shouldn't be surprised when she sees him on the news. it explains a lot of the missed calls and random wounds, but... why didn't he just tell her?
secrets revealed, it's as though the two of them can finally be close again. leanne finally has her little boy back. and although there's a period where all seems right with the world, it's simply the calm before the storm. he's made plenty of enemies over the years - ones that hated his shameful arrogance when he started this game, ones that had loved ones slaughtered in the path of his attempted heroism, and ones who felt that he had wronged them directly. so when he receives repeated emergency calls from his mother, while he's at the ripe age of twenty-six, he has no choice.
with the simple flick of the wrist, he’s tossing open the front door to his family home, unashamedly busting through the triple lock system in the process. it's something they'd implemented as a preventative measure for anything... like this. “mom?” his strained voice echoes through the small two-story, noting how the place looks as though a tornado came through - cabinets and drawers ransacked, picture frames and vases shattered on the floor, and rugs shifted as though there’s been violence. “mom!” his tone shifts, as though demanding an answer, as he’s practically sprinting up the stairs to try to find her.
heart is drumming within his chest, filled with a petrified anticipation of what he might discover. when he gets to the top of the stairs and notes a trail of dark red stains along the carpet of the entryway to her bedroom, his heart drops right to his stomach. without missing a beat, he’s rushing into the room, jeans becoming covered in wipes of blood as he falls to his knees next to her figure. “mom, c’mon - come on...” the words leave him in a confused mix of frustration and panic as shaking fingers hover over the evident gunshot wound to her chest. he’s trying to slow her blood loss, trying to keep her awake, but god, he’s struggling to see beneath the tears that well at his eyes.
“ash...” her voice is weak, and she’s barely able to speak through the thick liquid that pools in her throat, so he tries to urge her otherwise. “it’s okay, you’re gonna be okay...” chest rises and falls quickly as he works through desperation, entirely blindsided by her condition to recognize that if she’s still alive, the person who did this is still here.
he hears the click of a loaded pistol behind him, feeling the barrel pressed against the back of his head. "exactly where we want you." he recognizes the gravely voice of the man, hot breaths in and out of his nostrils as he pays attention to the surrounding noises, now fully aware that there's three more men in the room as they cautiously join their friend. "then shoot," ashton spits the words, gaze still glued to the woman before him - the one who's looking at him with his own eyes, as if begging him to do the right thing.
stained digits tremble, the amount of energy he's secretly utilizing causing the start of a nosebleed. "what are..." one of the other men starts, though the spiteful words of a broken man interrupt. "didn't i say to fucking shoot?" and though the lead man tries to do just that, the trigger doesn't pull, and his alarm has his lackeys aiming their own weapons, though they're not successful either. ashton lets out a quick breath as he clenches his fists, forcing all four bullets out the opposite way out the chamber, simultaneously targeting their handlers and rendering the guns useless.
popping, groaning, guttural wailing, he hears the men behind him suffering from what they've brought on, though he doesn't even dare look at them. hands cradle his mother's face as he sobs, unable to see the little smile she offers him - the reminder that she is proud of the man he's become, and the wish that he doesn't lose himself in the future.
despite everything that he's capable of, all the growth that he's made, it seems as though none of it will ever be enough to keep his loved ones safe. what happened to the boy who loved the spotlight? well, he's the man who keeps those he loves at an arm's distance - that's for their physical safety and the protection of a heart that simply isn't sure how much more it can take.
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