Tyrone Johnson (Continuation of First Chapter)

… Then came the pain…

…Then came the experiments…

…Then came the poking and prodding to awaken the MUTANT inside…

…Everything in Tyrone's mind craved the sweet release of Death...

But Death never came and nightmares were all that remained as Dr. Cecilia and her colleagues tried one experiment after another to awaken his latent Mutant Potential.

Tyrone lost count of the number of times he would black out, enter his darkness-filled mind, and be tortured by Jessica's and Xandra's death on repeat…

Their deaths could have been avoided if he let his Mutant powers run amok or at least that's what the Shadow inside his mind would whisper whenever he passes out from the pain.

However, try as he might to manifest his Mutant abilities, there was always something holding Tyrone back.

To Tyrone, his Mutant power was an enigma…but the enigma was slowly being understood with the experiments and Tyrone figured one aspect of his mutant ability…

It fed on fear and since it was not strong enough to project itself outside of his body, Tyrone felt that his abilities fed on his fear.

A mutant ability that was equally as toxic to the mutant as it was to everyone else was not a mutant ability worth manifesting.

---------------

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"

Tyrone shouted as he pulled out of the comfort of his mind and into reality – a reality where several tubes were attached to his body, sending liquids and nutrition directly to his stomach.

Today was the final day to awaken his Mutant Powers and that meant the experiments would be as equally desperate as Dr. Cecilia was feeling.

"Don't stop!" Dr. Cecilia shouted angrily "Push more necrosis fluid into his body… we need him to either die or manifest his mutant abilities…"

The Doctors hesitated "The Necrosis fluid will target his nerves first… it will kill all sensation of pain so he won't be able to manifest at all…"

"Before it kills his nerves, it will jolt him with pain unlike any other… if he doesn't manifest at that time then he never will!" Dr. Cecilia stated, moving the Doctor aside and pushing a few buttons on the nearby console.

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"

Tyrone felt something gnawing through his flesh, searching for anywhere that could be further damaged to make him feel even one percent more pain.

Usually, it was around this time that Tyrone's mind would retreat to its Darkness-Haven but that didn't occur this time…

Tyrone felt every inch of the pain and marveled in the slow comforting embrace of Death approaching.

Tyrone's life flashed before his eyes…

His time with Tandy… Billy dying… his father killed in the courtroom… Jessica and Xandra dying… his mother's letter…

Everything could be reviewed with amazing clarity near the end of his life… a type of clarity he wished he had just a few days before…

Tyrone thought back to a happy time… A couple of days ago when Jessica was still in his arms, lying on the bed together as Xandra complained but still cleaned the floor of his room.

Tyrone craved such days again and he wanted to shout his prayers to the Heavens, hoping beyond all hope that some benevolent God stood above, ready to grant his last request.

However, even if there was someone listening, the blood that gurgled at his throat stopped him from doing anything other than drowning in his own blood.

It was at that moment… between the veil of life and death that Tyrone realized that he had heard similar screams of pain to this before…

He realized that he had been hearing the pain of life every time his mind drifted into Darkness. Tyrone zeroed in on that sensation within the darkness and found another Tyrone standing amongst the despair.

Of course, Tyrone had seen this version of himself before… it was that one-time light illuminated the Darkness and he laid eyes on himself…

Well, almost himself… this Tyrone looked stronger with more sadness than any one person could safely bear…

"You're dying…" The Stronger Tyrone whispered.

Tyrone shrugged "I don't feel too scared by the thought right now… I guess you're only afraid of dying when you have things left to lose…"

The Stronger Tyrone shook his head "You have a lot left to lose, you just don't realize it yet…"

"So you're what? My Angel? My Devil? My reason for living?" Tyrone asked nonchalantly.

The Stronger Tyrone smiled wistfully "I am all those things… I am also the reason you're still alive or the reason you haven't died yet… I am the reason your power is too great for your body to hold and I am also the reason your body is too weak for your power to manifest…"

"I figured…" Tyrone replied unsurprised "I ain't ever feel so wrong about some things the way I feel about my powers… it's like having an extra arm taped onto your back and expecting it to work like every other limb…"

"That is a good description of my power but… Let me tell you a story and if in the end you still want to die, I will send you on your way…" The Stronger Tyrone proposed and Tyrone nodded vaguely knowing that nothing would change his mind.

FlashBack------------

I hail from Earth 58163-2 or as my Universe is more widely known as House of M Branch Universe. My name is Tyrone Johnson and my superhero name was Cloak. I was born an orphan and spent most of my days hustling on the streets of Brooklyn…

I was a hungry kid… stealing shit where I could, robbing people where I could, and getting my ass whooped when I couldn't get away. I would chill around the shelters, begging for food, and most of the time I would get food, but when I couldn't, I would steal it…

Every time I thought I would get caught, the world just changed a bit and I wouldn't be caught. I should have noticed what was happening then but I didn't… I grew up a bit and turned 12, saved enough money to go to school and everything…

High School was where I met her – the most beautiful girl you go ever see in any Universe… her name was Wanda… she was the shy type and everyone stayed away from her for some reason. I was a cast out and she was a cast out so we just bonded over that. We were close and by the time we were fourteen, we were already kissing and touching each other….

When her dad heard of this, she was pulled from school and I was expelled. Turns out, everyone stayed away from her because she was a rich sickly kid with a paranoid father. My life that I worked two years to build was ruined in seconds.

When I was with Wanda, she fed me… she clothed me… she gave me a place to stay away from the gangs and streets… she paid for everything and I have to admit, I clung to that girl because she made sure I was taken care of…

I didn't really love her awkwardness all that much but as long as she fed me, I was game for whatever she wanted… With her gone, I was back on the streets selling dime bags to go back to school eventually…

After all, everybody knows that if you stay in the game too long, you're gonna die in the game… but I didn't want to die in the game, I wanted to make something of myself… that's when this shady ass deal to test drugs came around…

At first, it was a few vaccination injections and I met a nice girl named Tandy… we hit it off instantly and we started fucking and dating… she was fucked up and I was fucked up so we just wanted someone to love… so we loved each other intensely.

When the final drug trials came around, we were strapped to tables and injected with synthetic heroin. We were sure we were going to die but Tandy held my hand and I held hers… we prepared for death but like magic, we suddenly felt okay and everyone was gone…

We wandered around for a while until we realized that we had powers that kind of balanced each other out… I was super fucking hungry for life force and Tandy had too much life force… we were opposite sides of the same coin.

We traveled around staying in abandoned churches and robbing small-time shops, stores, weddings and etc. We were good for four years until we turned eighteen and our relationship had hit a lapse…

Tandy realized that she could survive without me as long as she used her powers once a week. I also realized that I could survive without Tandy as long as I took a couple of criminals into my darkness… the relationship became harder when we realized that it was our choice and not our powers.

Living four years thinking you were meant for each other and then realizing you were not, hurt us… still, we struggled through it and eventually got an apartment in New York where we settled down and even talked about having kids… we were slowly finding that balance and happiness again.

One day, Tandy and I went out about the city just having fun… we passed by this huge mansion called 'House of M' and like a ghost, Wanda appeared behind us… she had expectant eyes when she looked at me like she expected me to come and find her but I wasn't looking…

It was like she expected me to leave Tandy and be with her again right there. Of course, I just ignored her after a few kind words and left with Tandy. The following morning, I woke up and Tandy was gone… she had packed her things and run away in the night…

She probably wanted to live her life normally and not having her boyfriend eat her Life Force every single day… Time passed and I kept the house and everything the same, kinda hoping that Tandy would return one day.

Two years passed, I was twenty… Wanda and I had started dating again and we reignited that flame hotter than any sun in the galaxy. We were so hopelessly in love that I forgot all about Tandy… it wasn't long after that Wanda and I were expecting…

Sadly, it was like the pregnancy took something out of both me and Wanda… I started growing hungrier and hungrier… the thugs I would occasionally vanish into my darkness were no longer enough… Wanda was also getting paranoid and twitchy…

We knew something was wrong but we didn't know what… until one day the baby kicked and Wanda erased the African continent from existence… that's how I found out that Wanda was a mutant… not just a fucking mutant… probably the fucking God of mutants…

I wanted to abort the baby since I wasn't sure what would happen during childbirth but she refused and every time the baby moved or kick, some of the world would change or be erased. At first, nobody noticed but we eventually caught the attention of the Avengers, the X-men, and entire governments.

Wanda and I hid but one day I had enough and tried to abort the babies secretly… Wanda caught me and banished me into my own darkness… I spent a year in there, hungering and crying with endless pain as I ate my own life force and spat it back out, only to start over…

After the kids were born, Wanda came for me but by then, I was so hungry that I couldn't be near the kids. Wanda went crazy with guilt and literally plucked a couple of planets from the Universe and sent them into my Darkness to keep me well-fed.

It was an absurd thing to do and my power grew uncontrollably until I was basically a God like Wanda. We resumed a happy life after, Wanda warped everything back to normal after the twins were born and we were happy…

At least until Tandy showed up at the door like she had just left yesterday… I had a family now and I didn't want Tandy anymore but Tandy seemed to think that no time had passed at all. Wanda exited the house and saw Tandy… she then realized that she had returned everything back to normal.

The avengers were back, the x-men were back… everything was the same and there was no need for hostilities but that also meant that Tandy was back. It was then that Wanda admitted everything… how she loved me since we were children… every time I came close to getting caught she would warp the outcome so I escaped.

At first, it was a practice to control her abilities but it later became an obsession to the point she had to see me. She made herself an identity and attended school… she was happy with me but her powers were growing and she had to leave…

But she watched me fucking Tandy and got mad, sending us to drug trials as punishment until her powers acted up and I nearly died… she then decided that she would wait for me to come to her… if it was meant to be then I would come to her…

She watched as I grew closer with Tandy and how happy we were and she lost it… she warped her mansion into my path and used that as justification to re-start our relationship. She later got rid of Tandy and everyone who wanted her to abort the babies. But when the twins were born, she returned everything to normal…

I was scared and appalled but I also had near-limitless power… I walked to my twins and took them from Wanda's arms… she begged me not to but I had to do it… The kids couldn't be allowed to be raised by their mother…

Tandy was a stranger to me so I didn't care what Wanda did to her…. And I just needed a break from Wanda… I took the kids and was about to leave but… well, Wanda went ballistic and whispered 'No more Tandy…'

But Tandy didn't disappear and Wanda thought I was protecting Tandy but I wasn't… I didn't have the power to go against Wanda but she was already irrational… Of course, she killed me next and the piece of me that managed to survive came to you – Tyrone Johnson…

This is just a fraction of my power with a small piece of consciousness that will soon disappear…

Flash Back End------------------

Tyrone frowned after listening to the story "I thought if you were going to tell a story, then it would have been a happy one…"

The Stronger Tyrone laughed "There are no happy stories in reality kid… just happy moments that should outweigh the sad moments by the end of your life…"

Tyrone shrugged "It's none of my business… I am dying and I don't even understand what you meant… avengers? X-men? Wanda? I don't know what those are or who they look like…"

"You will find out soon…" The Strong Tyrone whispered.

"What do you mean?" Tyrone asked, a bad premonition overtaking him.

"Wanda wanted to make sure that we'd always be together so I was cursed with pseudo-immortality. As long as I use my powers, I become younger and revert to the age of sixteen where my age is locked in and the process starts over…

I can be killed but I can't kill myself… and usually, my ability takes me out of every harmful situation… I am not here to make you wiser or something… I chose to come to you because a 'Tyrone' always has to bear the curse so… I am sorry but the struggle is now yours…

I lost my wife… my children… I lost Tandy and I had no friends whatsoever… I am tired of living but you're young kid… you have a life to live so I am giving you this curse for the both of us!"

----------

Gurgle

Gurgle

"He's choking on his blood…" A Doctor yelled, attempting to administer some medication to save Tyrone's life but he was stopped by Dr. Cecilia.

"What are you doing?" Another Doctor yelled but Dr. Cecilia was frozen in shock.

"It's happening!" Dr. Cecilia whispered, looking at the lights dimming inside the room as an eerie smoke of darkness escaped Tyrone's body.

"This is impossible…" The Doctors murmured, their instruments showing readings that should have been impossible in a Physics-abiding world.

"Let me see!" Dr. Cecilia shouted, grabbing the tablet from the Doctor's "This is amazing… what are these particles? Dark Matter or…"

"Darkforce particulates…" Another Doctor answered frightfully, quickly jumping towards the nearby computer and tapping several buttons to release Tyrone from containment.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Cecilia asked startled.

"I had a hypothesis earlier…" The Doctor murmured, taking several steps back as the darkness around Tyrone became more apparent "What if the kid had his mutant power awakened a long time ago but it just wasn't 'fed' the right energy.

Such a mutant power would try to feed outwards but when that isn't sufficient, it would feed inward. When that wasn't enough it would reach for a place to feed … maybe even an entirely different Dimension…"

Dr. Cecilia's eyes opened wide in fear "Take samples and kill him!"

The other Doctors hurried towards Tyrone's darkening figure but….

It was too late, Tyrone's pure black eyes snapped opened and smoky darkness rolled out of his body in torrents of waves that blocked out all lights from his surroundings.

"What's happening?" Tyrone murmured feeling his body healing and an overwhelming sense of infinite power fill his limbs.

Even more annoying to Tyrone was a small thug that pulled him in a certain direction.

Tyrone closed his eyes, sensing carefully where his new power was attempting to take him but all he saw was the endless expanse of the Universe that extended into infinite darkness…

"NO!" Tyrone shouted, attempting to restrain his power so he wasn't dragged into the literal Abyss "I will not go there… I will remain here!"

The more Tyrone fought against the pull, the stronger it became and soon Tyrone could feel reality itself fracturing and being ripped apart to ensure that he was pushed into the Abyss.

His power was making it clear – 'You leave or we will tear apart the fabric of reality to take you'!

"Restrain him with the dampeners… we need samples!" Dr. Cecilia yelled, hysteria taking over her mind but she still retained enough focus to complete her tasks.

The other Doctors were at a loss in the pure darkness, not even sure of their left from their right. All the Doctors could do was bang their heads against the walls senselessly to quiet the whispers of Tyrone's shadows.

"AAAAARGGGHHHHHH!" Tyrone gave a final shout in indignation and….

twrrrppp

With a swirl of darkness, he was gone from the abandoned hospital room, leaving behind a small fracture in the void.

"Such power!" Dr. Cecilia murmured before passing out, everyone in the room dead aside from her.

∞∞∞

Earth 199999 (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

New York City ---- 7th December 1941

There was a swirl of dark smoke and Tyrone appeared in the middle of a busy street in downtown Brooklyn New York.

Tyrone's senses were scrambled and he barely registered the sound of numerous horns honking for him to get out of the way.

Eventually, one of the drivers got impatient and Tyrone felt a blunt impact against his hip sending him collapsing onto the ground with his senses even more jumbled.

Tyrone quickly steadied his mind and barely restrained his limp as he got to his feet in anger.

"Darlin, you knocked the poor boy down!"

"Shut up Betty!" Came the gruff voice of an angry man "Nobody told the nigger to stand in the middle of the street."

"What did you call me bro?" Tyrone asked threateningly finally glancing at the man and woman pair in front of him.

They seemed to be dressed a bit strange but Tyrone wasn't about to let a white guy call him a 'nigger' and do nothing about it.

bang

Tyrone cranked back his fist and a blow flew, connecting with the face of the white snob in front of him but Tyrone also lost balance and tripped over his limp leg, falling to the ground alongside the man he attacked.

honk---honk----honk---honk

There were several more honks of displeasure and amazement, and the next thing Tyrone felt was his body being pressed onto the ground and handcuffs restraining his wrist.

"You're a brave one eh?" The Officer asked, "Punching your betters in the face so publicly like that!"

Tyrone felt a couple of kicks to his side from two other Officers but he was more indignant than angry "Why you fucking with me fo? That dude almost ran me over on purpose…"

"So?" Another Officer asked mockingly, lifting Tyrone to his feet roughly "You think that since war is brewing, your kind suddenly has rights around here?"

"War? My kind?" Tyrone asked confused, finally processing the sights of everything around him "What the fuck?"

Tyrone could vaguely guess that he was in New York but it was a very retro- New York. The buildings were new but also old and the street was congested with cars… but Cadillac, very old Cadillacs.

The cars even had bonnets, boots, and everything else so Tyrone was sure that the cars were those Cadillacs that were popular in the early 1940s.

He glanced at the woman called 'Betty' and noted that she dressed in old-style clothing. The man he had just punched also lost his toupee.

"When the hell am I?" Tyrone asked the Officers who had already begun to drag him towards their parked Police Cars.

The Officers laughed "Going with the insanity plead? Hahahaha… this is 1941 kid… it's prison for you!"

Tyrone didn't get the chance to ask any more questions as he was knocked unconscious with a quick gunbutt to the head.