Chapter Text
The wet soil clung to his hands as he dug, splinters from the broken wood of the coffin scratched at his skin and dirt under his nails as he pushed himself out of the ground. The cold air hit him like a bus and it was dark out. The rain cleaned most of the dirt from him as he looked up toward the bright full moon, he was alive. He could feel his blood pumping and chest move as he breathed fresh air again. As he began to walk out of the cemetery, a green light began to follow him, he stopped, he… couldn't move any further.
'Captain Scarlet has failed us, but the Mysterons shall not fail.'
'What?' Conrad said, trying to move further, but it was hopeless, whatever these Mysterons were, they were powerful.
'You, Captain Black, will be our new instrument of destruction.'
Before Conrad could even react, a blinding green light came over him, just like on Mars, and he was no longer on earth. He was back on Mars, but it seemed different. He could finally move again and he walked on, deeper into the strange structure he had been placed in. The place itself was dark, it was the glowing inhabitants and the path that lit up the space, guiding him to his destination, wherever that was.
'You are now inside the city you chose to destroy, you are lucky we can rebuild in such a way.'
'Where are you? Who are you a-and why am I here?' Conrad shouted into the void beyond.
'We are the Mysterons, and we are all around you. We have evolved past the need for physical bodies, unlike you earthmen who rely on them so, it makes you weak. You are here as our instrument of destruction, you caused this, and you will pay.'
The glowing happened again, blinding Conrad, it went on for longer and slowly he began to lose his memories, his emotions, and he lost everything that made him Conrad. All that was left was a shell, a puppet for the Mysterons to control.
The mysteronised Conrad, Captain Black as the Mysterons would call him, looked down at the circular table, an image projecting onto it, he saw blurred figures, important figures, sitting around one singular man, he was all white and seemed familiar to Black.
'Colonel white will be the first to be destroyed. Once he is gone, the world's defences will be reduced. And the true war will begin.'
He was shown a room that would be where the grim deed was done.
'Do not fail us, Captain.'
And with a green light, he was teleported back to earth, with one mission, to kill. - A meeting of important people was always a risky affair, especially in this day and age, so captain black had been shocked at how easy it had been to get into the building and not be caught, 'the earth men had let its guard down, this would be easy’, he thought as he made his way into one of the electronics rooms that surrounded the meeting space. As he set up his gun he peered into the room through the metal slats, there were a few people there already, including his target, Colonel White, who was standing talking to others at the back, he hoped he would move so he could get a clear shot. If he succeeded this war would be easily won by the Mysterons.
The meeting began a few minutes later, and as hoped, Colonel white took a stand at the front and began to speak about the mysteron threat. If only they knew what was just in the next room. He cocked the gun and took aim, his finger finding the trigger, he looked at the man who was once his mentor, he felt nothing and fired. A window smashed and a red blur pushed the Colonel down and took the bullet.
Scarlet? What was he doing here?
'Captain black, the mission has failed, leave now and be ready to receive new plans.'
And so he did. He ran through the corridors and up the stairs to where a helicopter would pick him up and he would be free. He only made it halfway up the stairs before he heard the door open.
'Stay right there!'
Destiny? He remained turned away from her. He felt emotion for the first time since he was Mysteronised. He felt a warmth in his chest, everything felt right just at that moment, he loved her. He didn't want to hurt her, she could handle herself but with this Mysteron power… he wasn't sure what he was capable of. The emotions were gone soon enough as the Mysterons took over again.
'Destiny, it's me Conrad.' he said calmly, turning around and facing her. His arms stretched out as if he was going to hug her.
'Oh, how I'd like to believe that.' Black’s arms came down at that, the Mysterons did not understand humans much. They had watched them for centuries, but love was something too complex for their understanding. They had to try harder to get Destiny to believe him.
'Please, believe me, sweetheart. The Mysterons have lost control over me, just like they did with Scarlet.'
'How do you know about Scarlet?'
He knew the ruse had not worked, there was no point in trying, he kicked the gun from Destiny's hand and made a run for it. Upon opening the door to the roof, bullets were being shot at him, he noticed captain blue behind one of the walls, he waited for blue to pop out and shoot again and he made his move, shooting back at Blue, nearly hitting him. The near-miss was enough to catch Blue off guard leaving Black to get on the helicopter and escape.
The helicopter flew away at speed, he looked back at the building that was merely a speck in the distance. He turned back in, looking around at the men who helped him escape… their eyes glowed as they looked at him. He returned the look, seeing the mysteronised men that seemed more puppet-like than he. The Mysterons would dispose of them no doubt, they were only here for one job. He feared the same of himself, but would it really be that bad?
Within minutes they were at the drop off point, and as soon as Black stepped off the helicopter, it disappeared, along with the men that flew it. And again he was alone.
He was dropped off near the cemetery where he was buried. There was a small abandoned shack in the forested area, he went in and found a small bed and some food and water. The Mysterons understood the human body needs to be fed, watered and well-rested to work. Sure they could just bring him back if he died again, but it took a lot of energy and time that could be used to carry out their revenge. He sat on the bed and ate one of the sandwiches that were placed on the battered side table. The taste was not the best but it was better than nothing. The water was the same.
The bed was uncomfortable, and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep yet. Looking outside, it was late evening, the light was low and the cemetery looked quiet and inviting. Opening the door and walking to the open gates, he peered inside before taking the final step. No one here. He walked slowly toward the large yew tree, its branches seemed to point out his grave, as he walked he noticed caution tape around it.
'SPECTRUM POLICE DO NOT CROSS' It said in large letters.
Nothing had been moved, even after all these weeks, the hole in the coffin, the debris around, even the photo of Destiny… he hadn't seen that before. He sighed and reached over the barricade to pick it up… she was beautiful, he missed the days they would train together always challenging each other to do better, or the days they got at home, snuggling on the sofa, just enjoying each other's presence. He folded up the photo and placed it in his pocket, despite being on opposite sides, he still wanted to keep a piece of her with him.
'Rest now Captain, tomorrow's challenges will require a lot of energy.'
And with that, he returns to the shack and the Mysterons seem to partially leave his consciousness. The constant vice grip they had on him had loosened, and whilst he couldn't do what he wanted, he at least had his thoughts and emotions back just for the night. And that was enough.
He thought about the events of the past 3 days, coming back, going to mars and nearly murdering someone. His mind couldn't comprehend how any of this was happening, in his 32 years of life he had never seen anything like this. He had gone to Mars multiple times, and yet never came face to face with the Mysterons. And why after the attack, his attack, did they feel that the whole world needed to suffer. They could have just killed him and had at it, but they chose to make him suffer, by making others suffer. And this was only the beginning, it was only going to get worse from here.
He laid in the small bed, curled up under the blankets, shivering from the cold that wouldn't go away. He tried to sleep but all he could think of was how he didn't hesitate when choosing to shoot Colonel white, someone that whom he had been so close for nearly half his life. It felt like he was a stranger, just another man, not a close friend who had helped him through so much, who had taken him in after his injuries after the war.
Sleeping hadn't come easy, but when it came all he dreamt about was the life he had before, and it all burned away